


A Game of Lies

by TheHiddenGlitch



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Multi, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-26 20:16:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12565348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHiddenGlitch/pseuds/TheHiddenGlitch
Summary: "Sometimes, your dreams take you into some crazy scenario with no answers. It traps you and goes on autopilot for you to experience. And for the most part, not many people remember their dreams… except for me… for some odd reason. I often remember them more often than my friends and I can quickly tell when I’m dreaming if they turn out to be too real. Yet however… I was currently in a scenario in which I couldn’t tell if it was dream or reality, staring at a bloody crime scene in a mundane classroom. The look of two bodies burning freshly into my retinas as I let out a scream."Aka a Danganronpa v3 AU with a twist. A self-indulgence piece I'll be working on to relieve stress in my free time. Expect sporadic updates.I'll try to add a better summary later if I have enough inspiration.





	1. Prologue: A Deadly Nightmare

Sometimes, your dreams take you into some crazy scenario with no answers. It traps you and goes on autopilot for you to experience. And for the most part, not many people remember their dreams… except for me… for some odd reason. I often remember them more often than my friends and I can quickly tell when I’m dreaming if they turn out to be too real. Yet however… I was currently in a scenario in which I couldn’t tell if it was dream or reality, staring at a bloody crime scene in a mundane classroom. The look of two bodies burning freshly into my retinas as I let out a scream.  
Allow me to explain by catching you up flashback style. It's going to be awhile to catch you up anyway.

  
**_One Week Ago(?)_ **

  
“Wha-What!?” I stood befuddled at the reflection staring right back at me. Instead of emerald eyes, purple eyes glistened in the light. The short, wavy hair seemed black to me yet somewhere in my head… why did purple come to mind? It doesn’t at all appear to be that way at all! Not even this strange… the dark uniform was helping my brain jog. But the face staring right back at me was so familiar. Who is this-!?  
No...  
Wait...  
This couldn’t...be happening right?! I backed away from the countertop and slammed against the wall. My knees fell to the ground as my breath quickened. A hand went to grip my chest and it was… flat? Trembling uncontrollably, million of thoughts and questions raced through my mind. How did…? How was I…!? Why was I in Kokichi Oma’s body!!? I’m not even a guy!! Better yet - when was it possible for me to be in a fiction body? This can’t be real!!  
I barely even noticed that my - no - his nails dug into the uniform as I forced this body to rise up. Forcing myself to face the mirror, there wasn’t hiding anything about how wrecked his body looked. There were numbing pains in the back of the spine and right shouldered lingered on; being in this body that was supposedly crushed and poison yet seeing it standing like a zombie is one of the creepiest feelings. Still how this happened is beyond my comprehension and left many questions unsolved.  
The room I was in… I gotta get outta here! Once standing on two feet, I quickly ran to the door and upon opening it, was met with a chilling silence of one of the first-floor classrooms. Welp looks like I haven’t met anyone yet… if anyone is here. Did I start from the beginning of the game in this crazy nightmare? Or did I start from another point… either way, I really hoped I wouldn’t be walking through a pile of corpses. Taking a few steps, the body shivered if by instinct as if anticipating something. Sadly I didn’t know anything about what was to come because the next thing I knew-!  
“Found you little rat!” Eyes widening, a thud came from my left and I was met with glowing red lights. Oh crap, I’m in the very beginning!? The voice from this Exisal didn’t click in my mind at the time but all I knew was one thing. To flee and escape before I ended up dead.  
It seemed like Kokichi’s body seemed to agree with my thoughts and complied, exerting itself to the fullest as I ran away in full sprint. I never truly did like running or sprinting for long miles but no way was I getting killed by one of these things this early! Taking turns left and right, dodging the loud noises and thundering pounds of those Exisal, diving into the open doors of the gym before they shut behind me, leaving echoes inside as I groaned in pain. Letting the pain settle seemingly felt good for his body… in a weird strange way. Plus it gave me time to change up with whatever else the other students were saying.  
“Ah! There was another one?” One of them spoke up.  
“Geez, looks like one of those monsters nearly got him.”  
“Does that… still, mean they’re lurking outside.”  
“Well, day! They nearly got him!”  
“But what do they want with us?”  
Taking the time to finally open my eyes, I was surprised to see everyone else here - including Kaede and Shuichi looking at me bewildered. Or more like I was at them. Getting some strength, I forced this body get up despite lingering pain in the limbs.  
“Hey, are you okay?” The one of Kaede’s voice was on concern ye had a strange sense of distrust. This… wasn’t something I could pick up on so easily. At least not in my normal body… I think. Or am I truly losing my mind?  
“Y-Yeah, just sorta… dove too much to avoid those ‘things’ outside,” I tried to act normal, or at least play the part he would have played. Can’t tell them the name of the Exisals though or things might get weird. “But if you guys are wondering if those things are, I’d be happy to go outside again!”  
“You can’t! It’s too dangerous out there!” Yep, that’s Tenko’s voice and she was clearly not having it.  
“It’s likely that monster still lurks out there,” And Kiyo still remains creepy in his tone of voice. Wonderful.  
“So, are we just going to stay here and do nothing!? I need to know what’s going on-!”  
“And that makes sixteen!” Rantaro cuts fake protagonist off without fail. Well, it looks like things are getting back on track. Guess the best thing to do is follow what script I remember there to be in the game. But I do hope the Flashback Light and all that shit doesn’t work on me; I rather not be blindly playing the game through Kokichi’s mind without the knowledge.  
“What?” Kaede was flabbergasted, “What are you talking about?”  
“I’m talking about us. There are sixteen of us - all high schoolers. What do you think that means?” His question lingered on in a pregnant silence for too long. I could honestly feel the tension in the room. Everyone here had their memories somewhat intact for now - until the Kubz arrives and mess things up. Guess I can break the script a bit, can’t I?  
“Well, if you asking that question, then I’ll give everyone a hint!” I forced myself to pull off a smile that didn’t feel weird to these senses. “Sixteen students means we’re either on a school field trip or…”  
“...Or what?” Shuichi seemed to not be as hesitant, kind of like the tape but something felt more off about him than usual. It almost felt like he’s-!  
“Anyway, why does it matter if there are sixteen of us? There might be more coming.” Kaito suggested.  
“Nah, that wouldn’t happen!” I faked the laid persona of Kokichi, “If it's what I think it is!” I got a glance from Rantaro. Sorry boy but if since memories are going to get wiped soon, I'm going to have some fun.  
“...If this is what you think it is?” Maki glared at me directly and I felt chills sent down my spine.  
“What, you so kinda fuckin’ know-it-all? If you know somethin’, spit it out!” Oh fuck I forgot about Miu! Great, now the later game is going to be fucked because I can’t handle her one bit. Oh come on, please come right-!  
And just on cue, the whole deal with the Monokubz began with nothing too different since by then, I decided to shut up. From the clothing, changes went all smoothly by magic transformation and soon enough I was in Kokichi’s attire in game. Everything went well up until the Flack Back Light because the next thing I knew before the light switch was on…  
And then…  
And then…  
And then...  
I found myself back in the classroom where I woke up and nothing felt different. No crazy sequence of the rewriting of my mind, flying weird etching into the body of passing around and about me in bolded black letters… nope. I was back to square one and no Keebo was in the room. Just. Fucking. Great! Well, this isn’t going to be exciting at all isn’t it? Not only am I stuck in this place after I fell asleep, but even now things are off script. Just what I need! Folding these, I still couldn’t handle the fact I was in a guy’s body that wasn’t my own… geez, how am I going to use the restroom like this!? Or better yet, just how the fuck did this happen?  
Well, guess I can leave this classroom then; there isn’t anything left here that would be of much-! Clack! I froze at the noise. Clack! I heard it again. Clack! Um… was somebody, in the lockers over there? I looked back to the lockers and slowly walked over. Can this nightmare get any weirder or what? As I suspected, the clacking came from a locker and it looked to be jammed. Though, maybe if I just give it a good pull from this end then-!  
I stumbled back after my first tug was boosted by a force pushing against it. Yelping as I fell down, the dull pain in my limbs lingered as I groaned. Didn’t help that my mysterious stranger had it as well. When I looked up, I wasn’t expecting at all to see him, the Ultimate Survivor, lying at my feet as he struggled to get up. Our eyes soon locked together and we quickly scrambled to our feet.  
“Hey, were you the one who jammed the locker with me inside?” That was the first thing Rantaro asked of me and honestly, I couldn’t blame him. But if memory serves… he’s not going to fully trust me, is he? Then again, it did end up killing him in the actual story due to the lack of trust… as with Kokichi…  
“What me!? Do you think I’m that of person?” In my mind, I wanted to play along with how I knew the Ultimate Supreme Leader to be, but I couldn’t help but get slightly offended by his words. “Why would I be stupid and lock somebody I don’t even know there?”  
“...You do have a point,” He conceded. Well, there goes an easy introduction. “Though where are we actually?”  
“How should I know? I don’t remember anything either, but I got a strange feeling that-!’  
“Rise and Shine, Ursine!” Oh for the love of Chiaki Nanami you’ve got to be kidding me! Sure enough, the Monokubz made their entrances and repeated their greeting to us once again. Come on you guys, just let me have a conversation with Rantaro-!  
“Looks like two are finally awake!” Monophanie was the first to speak.  
“Yeah, took you knuckles long enough!” Monokid was next to speak, “You bastards kept us waiting.”  
“Keep you waiting? Whatever do you mean?” Rantaro asked, not wasting any time with their antics.  
“That’s so mean, not even giving us a proper hello or anything!” Monotaro faked some sadness, “We even let you sleep in compared with everyone else.”  
“Don’t you mean more like you forgot where they were?” Monosuke questioned their leader.  
“H-Hey! I didn’t forget at all! It wasn’t my job to keep track of them!”  
“Then whose was it?” Please don't make them bicker more and waste my time; I'm getting a headache already without the background music from the game playing to offset their voices.  
“...So, are you going to answer the question or will we have to go look for answers ourselves that aren’t from the mouths of walking animatronic bears?” I asked them, growing quickly tired of the group’s useless banter.  
“We’re no Monokubz! We’re the animatronic bears!” Oh, don’t tell me we’re getting the same joke as-!  
“Psst, Monokid… you’re saying your lines backwards.” Fuck this shit. I’m leaving right now. I made my way towards the door before Monotaro spawned in front of me.  
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” The red bear asked me.  
“If you’re going to make any use of my time, then I’m not staying. So either answer the question or move outta my way.” This time, I decided to glare at the bear to see if we could get a move on. I just hope that by some struck of luck the face Kokichi makes can get something useful.  
“Alright fine, fine, don’t you get yourself worked up,” Monosuke was first to respond, “Just come back here and we’ll explain.”  
“Wow, you literally have a lack of patience don’t you?” Rantaro asked as I walked back to the place, though I wasn’t at all happy.  
“Why should I? All I see are talking bears.”  
“Does the term Monokubz ring a bell to you?”  
“If it did, I’d already kick them all out; though my first impressions I’d do so as well… but yes I got no idea what or who they are.” Guess I’ll play along… yet I’m not sure if Rantaro knows that either. But hey, I’m going to have to roll with this aren’t I? If I’m truly stuck here and I won’t wake from a nightmare, then I’m doing this thing my way.  
“Hooray! It did work!!” All the Monokubz minus Monodam cheered happily.  
“Now that that’s outta the way, we can answer questions!” Monotaro led the pack.  
And thus to play along, I tried to force myself to roleplay Kokichi a bit by asking them the standard questions Kaede and Shuichi learned from the game. The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and whatnot remained the same, the Ultimate talent deal and finally leading into their departure after telling us to meet the others. Once they were gone, my knees gave out and I gave no resistance to sitting down like that.  
“Hey, you okay? You’re not looking so good,” He remarked as he knelt down.  
“...I mean who could, after all, that’s happened so far,” I faked a laugh as I got back up on my feet, “Sorry for worrying you; I’m fine I swear.”  
“Are you sure? For somebody who’s clearly not ok, you’re a failure at acting that way.”  
“Oh come on, can’t you just have some faith in people? You know, like trusting another?” I fell back into what I believed would be Kokichi’s actions towards Rantaro, “But then you wouldn’t trust me. For I am Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader!” I could imagine the little title card and music playing after I introduced myself, “So what’s your name?”  
“Me?! Well… I’m…” Rantaro took a pause, probably to debate whether or not reveal his talent. Not that I’d blame him, but if he wishes to keep his talent a secret, then I’ll play along until the motive comes along. Because I’m not letting him die so quickly this time; the Mastermind won’t get away with a cheap trick of getting away with murder until the end game that easily. Not as long as I’m in Kokichi’s body. Suddenly, his eyes wide as if he realized something and on his face… was that confusion I see?  
“You ok?” I asked, tilting my head; was something wrong with him? He didn’t go for this long without being his calm collected self-response.  
“I… I don’t know.” That was his response.  
“You… don’t know?”  
“I… don’t know. I-I mean, I know a got a name and Ultimate talent, or else I wouldn’t be here but… I’m having a hard time remembering anything like that right now…” He seemed to seriously be bewildered as I was. Rantaro never had amnesia or even faked it like this. What could be going on to make him do this? Or maybe… did his memories all get messed up like that? I surely hope not.  
“W-Well, maybe if we introduce ourselves to our classmates, your memory might return,” I suggested to him until we either brought up the Monopad or he happened to remember it himself. No way could I spoil that for him or else things might get too suspicious. Guess I’ll play along and help him out.  
“Are you even sure that will help me regain my memories?” He was skeptical I could easily tell.  
“Do you have any better ideas? Besides getting something and smacking your head until you remember?” I jokingly asked him, “Then let’s get going! Surely by meeting the others it's gotta help!”

* * *

  
Our adventure to meeting the other classmates was quite interesting: Angie Yonaga was her quirky mind weirded out Rantaro and myself a bit. Gonta Gokuhara had his enthusiastic love for bugs creep me out internally as Rantaro was indifferent. Himiko Yumeno amused me with her deadpan humor as did Rantaro. K1-B0/Keebo remained pretty much his normal self, but was confused when Rantaro confused or not knowing his name or talent. Kaito Momota has his extroverted celebrity personality pretty clear for us to see. Kirumi Tojo held up her Maid-like tendencies for us to witness. Korekiyo Shinguji still at crept the hell outta me but Rantaro didn’t at least physically appear distressed. Maki Harukawa was distant as ever to keep people from getting too close to her… just like her actual talent would kindly make her do. Miu Iruma was anything but nice to us, even when Rantaro was being polite. Ryoma had his cold shoulder and distance from us, though it was confusing more to see while knowing his past. Tenko Chabashira had her degenerated male views out front and center. Tsumugi Shirogane was her weird and boring self just to hide her true self… which angered me. Those as for the remaining two students...  
“So, we’re missing two more Ultimate students…” Rantaro and I were walking around outside, “A male and female according to the Monopad. Got any ideas on what their talents might be?”  
“Well if I had to guess, I’d say the girl has something to do with being a diva and the guy might be a popular celebrity! Maybe they’re an action duo!” I decided to spat out lies with enthusiasm. “But either way, if one of them wears a hat, I’d love to steal that.”  
“Why would you want to steal a hat?” He raised an eyebrow at me.  
“Because~ you rarely get to have any hair accessories for guys! Especially ones that my underlings can wear. Most don’t match the uniforms that much or they complain…” Suddenly we stopped, hearing a voice from behind us. “Oh?”  
“Ah, there you are! We’ve been looking for both of you!” Kaede ran up to us, followed by Shuichi.  
“Oh, um, hey there. You guys get kidnapped too?” Rantaro took the lead and I decided to wait until it was my turn, so I began messing with the Monopad. “Well, you both appear to look alright. That’s good. The situation could be better though.”  
“Yeah… totally,” Kaede responded.  
“Hey, let me ask you two something… Do you guys remember how you got here?” Rantaro asked another question while I continued to fiddle with my Monopad as I noticed I could customize the themes at once.  
“If you’re asking us, then...you don’t remember either, do you?” Kaede caught on as did in the game, but I wonder what their reaction would be to the new predicament.  
“Ha, you’re the same way too, huh? You don’t remember anything, do you? I guess that means everyone here’s the same.” He folded his arms.  
“That appears to be the case; it's like our memories got taken away or something!” By this point, I noticed that Shuichi seemed to be glancing my way through I could understand why. So I decided to hop back into the conversation once I choose my theme.  
“Yeah, guess we got amnesia or something. A pretty abnormal situation we’ve gotten ourselves trapped in right?” I chimed in with a smile.  
“Wait… amnesia’s a stretch. We’re probably just confused… I’m sure we’ll remember eventually,” Kaede tried reasoning with me while I continued smiling.  
“Are you really sure about that? We could have been hypnotized or even worse - abducted by aliens!” I decided to stretch things a bit to make it more entertaining.  
“A-Aliens?!” Well, that threw Shuichi for a loop; I can totally see why Kokichi would have done this in the beginning.  
Rantaro glared at me, so I stopped and allowed him to continue. “In any case, I hope we remember soon. Otherwise, I’ll remain the outcast.”  
“The outcast…? What do you mean?” Kaede tilted her head in confusion.  
“To tell you the truth, how I got here isn’t the only thing I don’t remember. I also forgot… my own name and talent,” He confessed, “I know I have them but they escape my grasp at the moment.”  
“Is that… even true?” Kaede was bewildered.  
“He’s not lying! I can attest that bit of information; not even his Monopad gives us a clue!” I chimed in, “So you better believe him ok? It's scary not knowing your own name right?”  
“I… guess,” Shuichi responded, “But what about you?”  
“Oh me? Well, you’re just in luck because I’m not faking any amnesia! For I’m Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader!” I introduced myself.  
“Ultimate… Supreme Leader? How is that even a talent?” Kaede asked me.  
“Well, when you’re the supreme leader of a secret organization with over 10,000 members and counting you kind of gotta give props to whoever's running the show right?” I laughed a bit.  
“What!?”  
“Impressive yes? Who knows what would have happened if I wasn’t chosen as an Ultimate student? The world might just burn~!” Oh, I’m going to have so much fun with Shuichi and Kaede by their expressions at the moment.  
“Seriously? The supreme leader of an evil secret organiza-!” That was my cue to do the thing!  
“Eh, who knows. I’m a liar after all.” Now time to play the mind games! Oh boy her expression is priceless right now!!  
“Huh!? You were just lying right now?” Kaede seemed to be somewhat upset.  
“I’m not going to tell you which are the truth and which are the lies. Otherwise, it’ll get boring… but if you come hang out with later, I might tell you a little truth!” I played along, “But for right now, I’m not telling youuuuu!”  
“...Please ignore him; his behavior of lying gets old after awhile,” Rantaro came back into the loop.  
“Aw, but I just wanted to see how they’d react…” I made a puppy face.  
“I see… but anyway, I’ll like to ask you another-!” The sound of bells stopped her in her tracks; wait, does that mean that the-!  
“Was that bell!?” Kaede didn’t look too pleased.  
“Huh? What’s going on with the monitor?” Rantaro pointed up to one nearby as it was turning on.  
“Hiiii! Thanks for bear-ing with us!” Monophanie was the first to speak on the couch.  
“Kept you bastards waiting, huh!?” Monokid was next to speak.  
“Every one, please make your way to the gym please,” Monotaro ordered us.  
“The opening ceremony can finally begin!” Monokid chugged his drink down.  
“Phew! We finally finished preparations!” Monotaro drank from his straw.  
“...You do realize you read your lines backwards, don’t you?” Monosuke seemed to be a little irritated.  
“So long, bear well!”  
As soon as the monitors clicked off, a sense of tension coiled around us. Though we were going to head there anyway, so I decided to give them a head warning before racing off to the gym myself.

* * *

  
Once all of us have gathered inside, the tension lingered around us in the otherwise animatronic-less gym. Nothing truly changed much in the beginning for dialogue. Though I opted to avoid making comments like in the game, so I choose to stay silent and be by Rantaro. Just on cue, the Exisals appeared to freak everyone out - including myself since it towered over my small form. Though since I couldn’t resist, I had to make the comment on how cool they weird - since on my end, it was pretty scary yet amazing to see them in person and not just behind the scene. But we soon got back on track, once an unlikely person spoke up.  
“Um… guys, I don’t think we need to panic. I’m sure we’re not in any danger,” My eyes widen at that voice; was that from…!? “If they wanted to kill us, we’d already be dead by now.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Kaede out of everyone walk forward, talking the roll Rantaro would have had if his memories weren’t suddenly missing… or rather suppressed.  
“So, what do you want from us?” She outright asked the machines, “You gathered us all up in the gyms armed with those… *guns* and kidnapped us. Surely you wouldn’t be keeping us here for another reason, right? And if I’m correct, you want us to do something or else we’re going to get hurt, right?” A pregnant silence followed before she continued. “So, what is it? We’re all here so why don’t you tell us what’s going on!?”  
“Huh, well aren’t you a wise gal?” Monosuke replied.  
Though I got one major question; why was Kaede asking this out of everything? Surely Rantaro might not have done it completely right but why her? Okay, this wasn’t all with her personality since she’d normally be frightened by these machines. Yet here she was… just up and in front of them; what’s going on with the off-script actions!? It took me so far back that I completely missed Monokuma’s entrance and all the mindless chatter between him and the Kubz. Even as the explanations went on, a realization started to sink in even more than being a real-life Killing Game. Though I think I was the only one to notice it; probably because I’m not actually from this world at all and it was more about my body than anything else.  
Suddenly, the numbing pain in my back and right shoulder suddenly spiked in intensity. My vision instantly became blurry and my limbs shook at the sudden spike. The laughter of the Monokubz and Monokuma didn’t help either at stopping the racing of my heart. Every time my fingers twitch, the stabbing feeling of tiny needles prickled my skin as I felt the world sway around me. My mind was on overdrive trying to figure out what was going on before everything gave out and I passed out into the dark void. Knowing that once I woke up, the killing game would begin.


	2. Daily Life PT1 - Chapter 1

After suddenly having “my” body pass out, I couldn’t tell how much time past when my consciousness returned. The numbing pain and everything from before seemingly vanished yet left exhaustion as one lasting gift. My eyelids slowly rise and somehow I hoped to wake up from this nightmare. Unfortunately, the first thing that caught my attention was a face looking concernedly at me. Didn’t take long for my brain to put two and two together.

“Hey, are you feeling ok? You gave everyone quite a scare when you suddenly passed out,” Rantaro notes as I groaned. Well, I’m still in Kokichi’s body and in v3 alright. 

“...Um, yeah I’m okay!” I smiled a bit before frowning, “Though, what happened after I lose consciousness?”

“Well for starters, everyone thought you were dead until I check your pulse,” He began while sitting in the chair which was reminiscent of his promotional artwork, “Monokuma wasn’t at all pleased by everyone’s reaction to your fall and the Kubz already believed somebody murdered you. Then after that nonsense, we got the rules on our Monopads followed by everyone being disturbed by the rules. Kaede got everyone together to search for an exit but due to your sudden collapse, I volunteered to stay behind and watch over you until you woke up. So after word got out about a manhole cover they left. I'd say that was about ten minutes ago when they left.”

“...Then if we are in the school gym, how did you get a chair?” My eyes blinked a few times once I saw the walls around us. I don’t recall seeing any sort of chair in this room. Though with some effort, I forced my body to get up from the ground.

“Oh, this? We found it in the warehouse and I didn’t want to sit on the ground,” he casually replied. 

“...I see,” I then fumbled to the Monopad and quickly scanned through the rules, “Well, at least they are straightforward.”

“Yeah, but everyone rallied around Kaede to find a way out so we don’t have to follow these rules… I got a feeling she’s going to be targeted by whoever's running everything behind the scenes,” He made a note as I stretched my arm, though wincing a bit, “Is your arm alright?”

“Y-Yeah, just got a sore muscle,” I forced a smile putting away my Monopad, “So, what are you planning to do? Going to go with Kaede and try to get outta here or what?”

“What you planning on doing?” He decided to ask me a question instead.

“Oh me? I’m not planning on going to the manhole cover; if they did get out they would have sent somebody by now,” I responded recalling what would happen down there; there was no way I could go and exhaust myself any more than this. “Besides, I’d rather go exploring a bit more before I hit the sacks. My body still feels incredibly tired,” I yawned and blinked a few times. “If you wanna go then be my guest.”

He paused in silence as I waved halfheartedly. Exiting the room wasn’t hard as I thought but I knew it wouldn’t be good to stay this way. My body still was exhausted from whatever came over me. The first thing that came to mind was having food in my stomach. Dragging my body, I got into the cafeteria and quickly found something to eat. Grabbing a banana and some random protein bar, my body relaxed into one of the chairs as I kicked my feet into the table. Thankfully since Monokuma and the Kubz might be getting quality entertainment from the efforts below, the thought came to mind. What exactly would I have to do to get back home?

Surely by “completing” the game, it might get me back home, but would that be the simple answer? Even if I were to survive the game as Kokichi Oma, there was a possibility that I’d still be stuck in a fictional world. What would I do if I was stuck here until I die? I can’t possibly put up a Kokichi act until this body of his dies. And sure as hell I am not going to have this game kill me off by having Maki and Kaito poison me. That would mean going through the game as per the script crafted from my world - though in this case Team Danganronpa in this world.

Finishing up the banana, I went to the protein bar to chew while my mind wandered as to how I could keep everyone alive. Coming up soon should be the First Blood Perk and the Time Limit If everything goes on track. That would lead to Kaede and Shuichi placing the cameras and Tsumugi killing Rantaro to frame Kaede. Though if I kept him from entering the library, it should work to keep him alive but the motive remained. The only way to keep them all alive would be to get around his motive. Would there be any way for me to find a flaw in the motives? Unless… if the Exisals are to come and kill them by Monokuma directly ordering them… Yes! That’s it! I can get Monokuma by that logic since it would be directly from his mouth. While his paws wouldn’t literally be stained with blood, it could stop him from announcing-!

“Hey, you bastard! Are you listening to me!?” My eyes snapped opened seeing a black and white bear leaning down towards me.

“Motherf-!” I freaked out and fell outta my chair, nearly dropping my bar and landing on the hard ground, “The hell?! Monokuma!? What are you doing here?”

“Oh little old me? I just wanted to make sure you haven’t dropped dead,” His tone remained, “Wouldn’t want one of my lovely students to already die this early in the Killing Game you know? Doesn’t make for exciting entertainment when somebody drops dead from not being murdered.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I waved it off as I got up, though I paused for a moment at what he said, “But, wouldn’t having me died this early kickstart the Killing Game?”

“Yes, but I can’t execute a corpse you know!?” He made himself appear sad, “Are you not grateful for your Headmaster checking up on your wellbeing? Then too bad!” He yelled arms raised, “Because as long as you’re alive and well inside the Ultimate Academy, expect to see me and my cubs all the time! And besides, I thought it would be nice to give you a little reward alongside your buddy who didn’t fall for the escape route!”

“Buddy? Do you mean-!” My words were cut off as the door opened up and Rantaro walked in, surprised as I was it seemed, “Oh, you meant him.”

“Looks like the two of you made it! I knew that both of you were so gullible as to come here!” Monokuma went back to cheerful as we stood side by side.

“What are planning to give us since we didn’t go to the escape route with the others?” Rantaro folded his arms, “Surely it wouldn’t be junk if you wanted us together to give it out.”

“Very intuitive of you my boy! For somebody who can’t even remember their name or talent, you sure have that intellect of yours in check! Puhuhu!” He chuckled a bit, “It would be a shame if that went to waste. Cooperating together to escape as a whole group of sixteen won’t do you any good. As a team of two, however…” I felt like the aura around the bear darkened with the glee of all things, “Well, you get the idea. Either way, I’d like you to hold onto these! Consider them a perk of a cooperative duo and a preview of what’s to come.” Suddenly Monokuma whipped out what appeared to be two smaller Monopads before shoving them into our arms. “But if you let anyone else other than yourselves finds out about this perk… expect to be punished to the highest degree! Ah-hahahahaha!”

The bear left as fast as he could, leaving us alone with the strange smaller Monopads and many questions left unanswered. Man, now I lost my appetite. Guess I’ll save the rest of the bar for later. Shoving it into the wrapper and into my pocket, I disposed of the banana peel before returning holding the smaller pad. “So, why the hell would Monokuma give us these for abandoning our classmates?” I asked before I turned mine on. 

The buffer appeared before it loaded up and update. By the time listed, it looked to be ready and fully installed by the next morning. Glancing up, it seemed like Rantaro had the same issue but then something caught the corner of my eye. Underneath the timer, until the update is complete, a warning sign was flashing with words: ‘Once the update is complete, you can’t go back.’ My eyes widen upon reading what it said.The hell does that mean? Now I’m really worried as just what the hell is going on.

“...So it appears Monokuma entrusts us with these… does yours say it will finish by tomorrow?” Rantaro asked to which I nodded in response, “I see…”

“Why would he entrust these to us? Not to mention prevent us from showing anyone besides ourselves.” I thought aloud to see if Rantaro bounced any ideas off to help me out. To that, all he did was shrugged.

“I believe we will find out tomorrow. Until then, we should make sure nobody gets suspicious.” We both put the secondary pads away for now and decided to retire for now. After all, I knew it would be pointless to go and try the escape route. Rantaro seemed to get the idea from how Monokuma was talking and probably seeing how exhausted everyone became. Getting to the room wasn’t hard at all and I quickly locked the door once I got inside. So we parted ways and I soon fell asleep on the bed.

* * *

 

**_6 Days Remaining_**  

The morning announcement woke me up from the dreamless slumber and I groaned. I have always hated morning and most breakfast meals; though with what happened yesterday I should get going. Gotta get dressed in something more presentable than a wrinkled, smelly uniform. Shit, I should have showered last night because I hate doing that in the morning… but how the hell would I shower as a guy? It can’t be that different… right?

…

…

...Turns out it wasn’t as bad as I thought so showering but using the bathroom was a whole other issue. Either way, I can deal with adjusting to the way of a guy later; right now I need to hurry and check in at the Dining Hall. My awkward behavior shouldn’t be a constant hassle in my daily routine starting now! Grabbing one of the checked scarves from the closet, I threw it around my neck and reached for the doorknob when-!

“Oh wait! The Monopad!” I stopped and quickly turned around to find it on the small table in the room. “Can’t forget about this; I’ll investigate this with Rantaro later today. Maybe then we can find out what’s going on.”

Returning to swipe the pad into my pocket, I rushed out the door, locking it behind as I went to the cafeteria. Or people would call it dining hall but I could care less about names. My presence wasn't at all not recognized as soon as I arrived inside. By then, everyone but Shuichi and Kaede was present and Rantaro waved as I entered. Nobody said a word, but I could tell how much they seemed suspicious of us. Couldn’t really blame them though; shouldn’t all of us be at this point? Well, maybe except for me since I’m not Kokichi but that’s beside the point. Rantaro and I traded glances as soon as the remaining two students entered.

“Oh, everyone’s here already…” Kaede’s voice trailed off before looking at us.

“Now… all of us have arrived,” Kiyo seemed to correct her, “Kehehe… I’m glad. It looks as though there are no victims.”

“But of course!” Keebo pointed out.

“Hey Kokichi, you ok?” Kaede asked me directly, “Everyone was worried when you passed out like that.”

“Oh me? I’m better now thanks for asking!” I flashed a smile, “But sorry I didn’t come with you guys. I thought a good sleep would help after I had a small meal.”

“I can vouch for that as well,” Rantaro added on, “I kept an eye on him to make sure it wouldn’t happen.”

“That’s a relief,” Kirumi commented, “We need to make sure everyone is in their best condition. So if it happens again or to anyone else, please inform me immediately.”

Duly noted… anyway, so it went on with everyone apologizing to Kaede for the tunnel stuff which was followed by both Rantaro and I explain why we didn’t join up with them. Though inside of what happened in the game, something completely different began to occur.

“Now, we need to find other ways to get out of here!” Kaede began to strike up another conversation when Monokuma jumped down from the ceiling. “Aaaaaahhhh!”

“Sorry, don’t mind me dropping in because I got an announcement to make before you go on your merry way!” Monokuma jumped onto the cafeteria table.

“Hey, don’t just suddenly show up! It’s too much stress for my heart!” Tsumugi complained.

“Oh sorry. Didn’t mean to not surprise you guys,” It was a sarcastic reply from the ber alright. 

“So you did mean to surprise us,” Himiko stared at the bear.

“Ugh, what do you want?” Kaede sounded annoyed, “What’s this announcement of yours?”

“Oh, it's terribly important if you don’t value your lives but…” Monokuma began with a cheeky grin, “It’s easier to stay alive by being an obvious goody-two-shoes, right? Being thrust into a Killing Game doesn’t mean you’ll be able to kill somebody easily. So I figured I’d ease you into the killing game by giving you a motivation to kill.” He winked, though it felt like more to do with Rantaro and I and what happened yesterday. Despite the obvious fact he wasn’t looking at us.

“...Motivation to kill?” Maki was questioning this act as any normal person should.

“In short, a motive! That oughta add some mystery to the proceedings! Even if a killer is exposed, they could whip up a sob story to deceive everyone!” Monokuma began to chuckle.

“Wh-What are you saying? Your logic is impossible to understand...!” Keebo was clearly not in the know of what was being said by the bear.

“Especially since I’ve already got it hooked around your necks!!” My eyes widen at what he said. Instinctively, I panicked and reached to my neck and didn’t feel anything at first. Though looking around, everyone was grabbing at their necks to find something. “Now that I’ve got you seriously paying attention, I will announce the first motive! Make sure you record this moment for posterity! Now then, this special motive I’ve prepared is what’s called The Collared Chip! Now, what’s that you might ask? Well, to put it simply, on the back of each of your necks a small tiny little chip has been injected into your body. Not just any chips in fact, but ones connected to bombs that will explode your neck and head off with a simple press of a button! Can’t you believe it!?”

My heart dropped as he said that. Everyone in the room got the dreadful feeling before Monokuma continued on. “Don’t worry about activating the bomb anyone! As long as you don’t go out of your way to remove the bombed chip it won’t explode. Or, you go ahead and murder somebody to get it safely removed by yours truly! If you survive the class trial that is! Puhuhuhu!”

“Y-You gotta be shitting me! There’s no way you could have done that in one night!” Miu was pissed off.

“...Are you doubting my absolute power over your lives?” Monokuma had his claws out, “But wait, there’s more! To help keep things interesting, I’m giving you a third option to survival!”

“A th-third option?” Shuichi seemed to be nervous.

“Why yes, for randomly among you, I’ve delivered a very special Monopad directly connected to the bombs!” My heart dropped as everyone’s eyes widen.

“Wh-What!?” Kaito was shocked.

“Why would you do that for? They could easily just deactivate them and stop your motive,” Kaede tried to make logical sense of what was going on. “Besides, we’re not listening to your false bravado! We’re not going to lose to you! We promised each other we’d escape from this place!”

“Puhuhu! If only that were the case… maybe I’ll you all about the other feature of the bombed chips later…! Right now though, you better try and find out which of you got the Monopad! They hold control over your life and death you know! Here’s a little hint for you guys though - they can’t say anything unless you know the password~! Ahahahahaha!!!” He cackled out his twisted laughter.

“Why you… bastard!” Kaito was pissed at this news.

“I see… you’re willing to put us up against each other for our survival,” Shuichi coldly looked at the bear.

“...A prisoner’s dilemma, how clever of you,” Rantaro noted.

“Huh? What’s that?” Kaito looked back at Rantaro.

“We all know that it is better to cooperate rather than betray each other, right?” Rantaro began his explanation, “But if you don’t cooperate, you receive some benefit that no else receives. It’s an incentive to betray the group for the sake of your own survival. With that in the back of our minds, we are less likely to cooperate. That’s Monokuma’s plan. To make a non-cooperative game that tanks Kaede’s plan to get us to cooperate.”

“Huh? But what, how would a person find out who has the Monopad help them over everyone else?” Kaede questioned after being thrown off balance, “For all we know, just finding out the person holding the pad gives them no advantage.”

“Unless that thing about a password would allow their bombed chip to be deactivated…” Shuichi thought aloud, “Or having to say the password might result in the holder of the pad being uncooperative with others and thus killing that person. Having that would result in a murder occur… it’ll be even more unlikely that we’ll cooperate.”

“It’s likely he created this motive for that sole purpose,” Kiyo remarked.

“Right? I bet you can’t stand all this tension in the air, right? So it's better just to kill!” Monokuma smiled again. “Though I’ll let even more tension linger in the air since I’ve only told you a portion of what this motive truly is!!”

“Wh-What…? You…” Tenko was nervous about this as everyone else was.

“It seems you are quite serious about forcing us to participate in this Killing Game,” Kirumi made sure to get everyone on point with that knowledge. “What exactly is your objective?”

“His objective doesn’t matter! I’m through with letting him have his way! I’ve had enough!!!” Oh crap, Kaito do no do it!

But sure enough, the Monokubz appeared and were followed by their Exisals rushing into the room. Though unlike the game, something unexpected happened without warning. As I was frozen there in shock and horror, my eyes instinctively shut and I looked away. The smell of blood reached my nose and I quickly covered it, followed by the sounds of guns firing. It all came at once to cause my knees to buckle. Echoing sounds seemed to bounce around me and I quickly covered my ears instead. Fromm how fast it came, the noises and everything ended almost at the same pace. When I opened my eyes and looked up, however… there was no sign of Monokuma, the Monokubz, Exisals and… Kaito. No stains of blood or even remnants of what happened. Everyone else was here, except for the ones I just listed.

“Wh-What is this…? What’s going on?” Even Tenko seemed to be worried about Kaito.

“I’m not honestly sure but… they all disappeared without a trace,” Ryoma noted.

“But how can this be?! There’s no way they can just appear and disappear whenever they fuckin’ want!” Miu pointed out.

“E-Everyone! We have to find Kaito now! He could be in serious danger!” Kaede’s authoritative tone got to us. 

“You are absolutely right! We should split off into groups and search for him immediately,” Kirumi added on.

“Do you have to? It seems like such a pain…” Wow, harsh much Himiko? “But if you insist, I’ll do my best…”

“I’ll go with Himiko then! I am going to show that degenerate male how much he should regret his actions!” Tenko struck one of her defensive poses.

“Then I too shall join Himiko; Atua will guide him to safety with us!” Angie added on.

“Gonta not sure how to help. Though Gonta try his best!” Gonta seemed to be starting his own group now.

“I’ll go ahead with Gonta then. Would anyone else like to join us?” Kirumi offered a hand to the remaining students. 

“I'm more than happy to oblige,” Kiyo responded.

“I guess I’ll start my own group of three then…” Keebo’s voice trailed off, “Would anyone like to join me?”

“Guess you’re having me in your group,” Miu walked over to him, “Only because I’m not going to deal with trashy skank over there!”

“...I guess I’ll join as well,” Tsumugi offered, “So there will be another group of three…”

“Who else is left to group us with?” Ryoma asked before we looked around. 

“That would be me, Kokichi, Shuichi, Kaede, and Maki,” Rantaro replied.

“Alright, then I’ll have Shuichi and Maki with me!” Kaede took the chance to choose her partners, “That will leave you to leave Kokichi and Ryoma. Ok, everyone has a team now! So let’s find Kaito now!”

There were no arguments as we all split up and went our own ways. With Ryoma here with Rantaro and I, we would couldn’t show off the Monopads we received yesterday. Thankfully we had another priority to find the missing Ultimate Astronaut as soon as we could. Though even after many attempts at searching… we could only locate the Exisals and nothing more. It was truly scary to think Kaito might be dead this early; he wasn’t even supposed to die, let alone have this motive for the class. The worry of the idea that I had a bombed chip implanted into my neck scared the daylights outta me. I choose not to show it since I felt like lying to myself a lot easier than back at home. Eventually, the three of us stopped in the dorm area to catch our breaths.

“...I’ll give the Mastermind behind this credit on one thing,” Ryoma began to talk first, “They can make anyone seemingly disappear at will.”

“Disappear at will? You mean you didn’t see Kaito get shot?” I hesitantly asked the Ultimate Tennis Pro.

He pulled his hat down a bit. “Nah kid, just a blackout occurred as we heard noises. Next thing we knew he was gone with the rest of them. I don’t blame you for not realizing that sooner.”

“This sucks… if we don’t find Kaito soon, I might just have to lockpick his room,” I jokingly said as we hung out by the stairs.

“Lockpick his room? Whatever would you do that for?” Rantaro asked as I laughed a bit.

“To see if has the Monopad of course~! If he’s gone and Monokuma gave it to him, it would be a hopeless situation,” I lied to Ryoma mostly, “After all, Monokuma seemed to make it pretty clear there was only one pad.”

“You might be right about that. Going into his room isn’t against school rules,” Ryoma pointed out and I smiled.

“Alright! Then just leave it to me!” I hoped up with a burst of energy and went to the dorm’s dorm with Kaito’s sprite on in.

Grabbing what I believed to be the tools Kokichi would use to lockpick, I tried to tap into just how he would have achieved such a feat. Then, I thought back to how games have taught me through puzzles. All I need to do it get it right the first time and… aha! My mind suddenly clicked and began fiddling with the lock. Picturing it like a game, I was more easily able to pick the lock in about eight minutes. Once I heard the click of the lock, my heart jumped.

“Guys! I got it unlocked!” I ran over the awning to look at Rantaro and Ryoma, “Want to come and check it out with me?”

“Sure. We got nowhere else to look,” Rantaro nodded as the two ascended the flight of stairs.

We entered Kaito’s room and for the most part, nothing was outta place. Even with that in mind, breaking and entering into somebody’s room was weird to the senses. Except for how things were purple, it looked like any old room that I’ve seen.

“Well, it doesn’t look like the Monopad is here,” Ryoma only took a quick glance at everything, “That seemed to be a waste of time if we hadn’t checked anywhere else. At least we know it wasn’t on him.”

“I guess so, but I don’t see any other reason for us to stay here. We should probably get going.” Rantaro began to the walk to the door.

Though something happened that I didn’t even realize at first. The sound of something bursting open just as Rantaro passed by the bathroom door caught us all off guard. Though at the time, we didn’t realize a chair was blocking the door’s handle to prevent it from opening until it fell to the floor. Who came out of there was a different story…

“Owch!!! The hell guys!? Didn’t you hear me yelling!” My eyes widen staring back at the Ultimate Astronaut. He got up from Rantaro - who cushioned the fall - as Ryoma and I was stunned to see him not only alright but mad at us. Though by our silent expressions, it was slowly starting to click in his head on what was going on. Then his expression changed from anger to well...

“Uh… guys, mind explaining to me just what the hell happened?”

I pushed my face into my palm as I caught Ryoma just pulling his hat over his face disappointingly. Though I didn't see Rantaro’s expression, his vocal tone told me everything I needed to know.

“...Let’s just go find the others to tell them you’re okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Chapter 1 begins off with a bang as the motive has been changed as with Kaito’s death - or at least he was going to die. I debated whether or not to kill the astronaut off, but I decided against it for plot point later on that only he could fill as a character. Though as you might guess, it will be some time before we get to the first victim and Class Trial. By the looks of things, might be two more parts before we get to Monokuma announcement to signal the transition into Deadly Life.  
> I would love to hear thoughts and theories and what’s going on so far. This might not mean much, but getting over 100 hits for what is my first real attempt at posting on work on here means a lot. Also, thank you to everyone who gave Kudos as well! Those mean a ton and will help me continue to update this in my free time. Speaking of which, I’m probably going to have some free times open to see who you want to see our main character hang out with. Our nameless main character - whom shall for now on be referred as Not-Kokichi in the notes - will hang out with certain characters from time to time. However, I’m still not completely set on who else Not-Kokichi should interact with for Chapter 1 since I can’t have her hang out with Rantaro the whole entire time. Maybe you can help with that?  
> Otherwise, I’ll see you next time!


	3. Daily Life P2 - Chapter 1

**_5 Days Remaining_ **

 

Once we secured that Kaito wasn’t just some ghost, getting everyone back together and having relief came just as nighttime rolled around. From looking around campus for the lovable idiot, it was nice just to shower and relax in the room. Sleep took me pretty quickly as I didn’t even change out of the towels covered my body. Even as I began to brush my hair, it felt odd how easily I was adjusting to being inside Kokichi’s body. Gave me the chills that weren't due to the wet spots on the covers. Quickly getting to looking fairly decent, I packed both Monopads and departed for the cafeteria.

Just like yesterday, tension lingered in the air as we all took a meal prepared by Kirumi to eat. Like usual, I sat nearby Rantaro as I began to scoff down the pancakes on my plate. About two to three people had a small talk that lasted only about a minute or so. They always ended with the tense silence of the room as glances were passed around. Yesterday’s motive still lingered in our minds it seemed. The Collared Chip motive… could that even be possible to use for the first crime? A First Blood Perk was the original game script but with this… Monokuma is making us become distant and untrusting of the fellow students trapped here. What made it worse was somebody has a Monopad and my gut told me that Rantaro and I had it, my mind believed somebody else had it. I guess the tension was getting to me as did the anxiety slowly creeping behind me. We didn’t really speak much as a group and quickly departed in our groups or alone. Even as I left to meet with Rantaro, I could easily tell how much Kaede wanted to raise the spirits of everyone but didn’t know what words to say.

Both of us met up in the AV room and made sure to lock it behind. Didn’t want anyone to know what we got from Monokuma. Rantaro and I sat in two of the chairs and took out the secondary Monopads we received. 

“You've completed the update right?” He asked me as I turned it on after charging it last night. I turned my pad on before glaring at the screen, “What’s wrong?”

“...Update 1 of 2 installed?” I tilted my head before showing him my screen, “Guess I gotta wait one more day before seeing mine. Did yours have anything accessible?”

“While mine is still updating, I did get access to one feature,” He tapped his screen before showing me a whole entire map of the place, “This map over here is our first clue to figure out what was going on. Don’t understand why whoever is controlling the bear is giving up perks like this.”

“Why would a map be crucial for us?” I tilted my head before leaning back into my chair, “But I think that could help us to figure out just what the current motive Monokuma presented us is all about.”

“...You’re right. We have to figure out whether or no Monokuma was telling the truth about those bombs…” His voice trailed off, “If it is true, he wasn’t going to spill out all the details just yet. Now, what we got for the motive is limited if we keep out our assumptions. Currently implanted in the back of necks are bombed chips that will activate if we try to remove them. One of our classmates has a special Monopad that’s connected to chips. Finally, Monokuma mentioned something about that person not being about to say anything unless we know the password.”

“That seems to be about everything we got from the bear,” I then focused on the password part of the clues, “If we have to work with what we know to figure out if Monokuma left any more crucial information, I think figuring out who seems the most likely to hold the pad or getting an idea what the ‘password’ is might be our best bet.”

“Agreed. I’d say at least until your update goes through on your Monopad, we try to hang out and look for anything that could get us closer to whoever possesses the Monopad or a clue to the password.” Rantaro nodded as he got up, “But going around together might be too suspicious; staying apart until tomorrow might cover more ground and appear less suspicious.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” My heart was pumping with a goal in mind, “Okay! I’ll chat with you tomorrow!” 

Both of us departed the room and got it unlocked or anyone who wanted access to it after our little meeting. As I began to ascend the stairs to the first floor, a thought suddenly occurred to me; nobody else knew how to pick locks right? Then it should be fine if I left in the room…! Wait no! I can’t do that if Tsumugi has her access to the hidden room. It's better to keep the pad on my person. Sure thing that Miss Ultimate Cosplayer could easily get into my room through one of the Mastermind perks. Though now since I gotta go find somebody to hang out with, who should I go with? I’d like to hang out with Kaede and Shuichi but just like before they were mostly connected to the hip bone; I rather not have the Ultimate Detective suspect me at the moment. Tsumugi is out of the question for obvious plot reason and for the simple fact, I hate her fake persona she puts up. Himiko would be nice if I don’t have to deal with Tenko trying to block my path to her. Man… who would I have to hang out with? Maki wouldn’t dare hang out with me anyway since she should still be hiding her real talent… then who does that leave? I began walking around the first floor in hopes of finding somebody to hang out with. Soon enough, I did find somebody who was available and willing to hang out with. 

“You wish to spend time with me today?” Kirumi seemed to be surprised when I met her outside, “Even after the motive announced yesterday?”

“What? Do you expect me to be tense and distant from everyone else?” I asked her with a smile, “Besides… I thought I could ease it down a bit by hanging out with you. After all, you do complete any requests you’re offered right?”

“...That is true. And if that is your request, then I’d be more than happy to oblige.” She smiled at me, “So, what would like to do?”

I then thought back to my dorm room and how messy it was for just using it barely for two days. That thought made me get an idea to have us hang out while cleaning my room. Though I didn’t do much other than gawk at her skills. Even if she had alternative motives later on in the original game, I couldn’t complain about her skills at all. By the time she finished, my room was completely spotless and looked like it was on the first night. 

“Wow! Kirumi you are so amazing!” I was so happy to see it all back to normal.

“Of course. Even if your room wasn’t at all a complete disaster, this request was a simple one.” Kirumi curtseyed. “Though I am a bit surprised to see how messy it was only after two night… Are you sure there isn’t anything else you need to request for my services?”

“Um… well besides getting to know you some more, that would about it,” I tried to reason with the Ultimate Maid.

“Are you certain this is the most useful time to get to know one another? Hanging out with another is a very vague request. Do you mean serving you by keeping you company?” Wow, guess she is selflessly devoted to this request, isn’t she?

“Isn’t that what ‘hanging out’ means? Wait, Kirumi… have you forgotten how to have fun by just being yourself?” It suddenly clicked in my head; has she nearly gotten to 'that' status of not really caring for herself that much? 

“Just being myself? I do not understand what you mean. As a maid, I have a duty to serve every request I am given to satisfy everyone who requests my services.” Yep, that’s probably it. Guess maybe this time, I can see if I can get Kirumi to have a break from his Maid-like personality she’s trapped in. She couldn’t have always been like this anyway; though maybe seeing another side to her would be enjoyable.

“Yeah, but what about your time before you became a maid? I doubt somebody like yourself could have just been born with selfless devotion,” I hinted at as we were outside of my room, just as I locked the door, “So come on, tell me how you were before taking up your Ultimate Talent.”

“...Before I become the Ultimate Maid? ...I’m afraid I have to decline,” Kirumi looked a bit troubled, “That is something I must apologize for. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get going.”

I couldn’t really stop Kirumi since this would our first free time event together, but after that, I decided to go back into my room. Something about hanging out and just watching Kirumi was making me tired. Jumping onto the bed, I looked up to the ceiling as I thought about how much more time I had to waste. Even with Kirumi doing most of the work, I should go around and look around the campus area for clues. Can’t just sit in my room and do absolutely nothing unless I nap. Yeah, a nap sound good on my newly made bed. Lying on my bed for what seemed to be minutes, I got up to get going when somebody began ringing my doorbell. Thankfully they didn’t buzz it for long as I yawned to open the door. Who I saw on the other side didn’t surprise me at first. 

“Oh! There you are Kokichi,” Kaede smiled as I continued to yawn once again, “Were you sleeping?”

“I was trying to go take a nap when you came around,” I finished my yawn as I rubbed one of my eyes. “Though, having you keep me won’t let me go take a nap anytime soon.”

“Sorry about that, I just wanted to spend some time and hang out with you,” Kaede seemed to be pretty honest, “Is that alright?”

“Sure, sure, it's fine.” I waved it off before noticing something, “Though I got to ask, you wanted to hang out with me alone? And not with Shuichi nearby?”

“Well, I’m not trying to integrate you at the moment. Can’t I just hang out with you without getting worked up on our current situation?” She seemed to be a bit angry before I chuckled, “What’s so funny?”

“Nee-heehee… It’s pretty strange you’re coming to talk with me of all people, but I’ll comply,” I smiled before yawning again, “Though, I’d like to get something to snack on at least.”

“Um… here, have some of this,” Kaede gave me some shake and I quickly decided to have it.

“Wow Kaede, that’s really sweet of you. Okay! So, what do you want to talk about? I’m all ears!” And then for the rest of the afternoon, I hung with Kaede as I tried to pull off some funny jokes. Sadly she didn't seem to enjoy any of the ones I tried to make. Wow, can’t she handle a little joke? Even with the shake, I spend time that seemingly brought us closer.

“Say Kaede, why did you choose to hang out with me than anyone else?” I decided to ask, kicking my feet as we were in her Ultimate Lab. I had pulled another chair so I can sit while she was playing some sort of music. “I’d think you’d be the last person to hang out with me. Even when you did forget about me…”

“Huh? Forgotten!?” Kaede began shocked as I smirked, thinking as to how I could proceed with this little joke.

“I can’t bare you ignoring me this whole time! Do you think I forgot!?” I decided to go with this some more.

Kaede seemed to catch on and quickly calmed down. “Are you lying again?”

I frowned and sighed since she abruptly stopped playing her music. “Man… why can’t you take a joke Kaede? I’m just trying to lighten the mood. There is no way I can just sit around and not try to lighten the mood. After all, it looks like you can’t handle a joke or two; guess leaders like yourself can't handle humor…” I made a sad puppy face. “WAAAAAHHHH!”

“Ugh, geez will you stop with that already; I’d be more than happy to take a joke if our lives weren’t on the line,” The Ultimate Pianist couldn’t let this facade of hers as leader go down even for one bit. “If we can just get around this issue of the current motive, then we can stop Monokuma’s plan for this Killing Game! I just can’t understand why you’re not worried about this at all.”

“Not worried? Listen here Kaede because I am worried about being trapped her for the foreseeable future under the rule of the walking talking bear parade, but I rather not fret unless it's going to ruin my life. Besides, all Monokuma says to give a hint is that password deal,” I decided to bring that point up to see if she could bounce an idea my way, “What do you think about that issue?”

“The password deal? I just don’t understand why that would apart of this whole motive in the first place,” She groaned and pushed her face into her hands, “All that Monokuma and those Monokubz are doing is giving me a bigger headache than before. Just why did we do to deserve this!?”

Signing up to participate in a killing game being global seen by the populus for pure entertainment. Or just getting kidnapped and us viewers don’t know any true shit about the outside world of this game. I wasn’t even sure myself about the true meaning of the true ending to the game, but if I was going with that in mind, I might in for an even more of a mind fuck. Though if it turns out my existence was somehow a part of this universe’s plot then I might be screwed. Yeah, how am I supposed to be a comforting source to Kaede if Kokichi is a trickster? Better yet, how can I remain myself and not play up this Ultimate Supreme Leader facade? I…

“...I’m not sure Kaede, but you need to find that answer yourself,” My eyes went to the ground as I rose up from my chair, hands gripping and crushing the empty smoothie's container, “Sorry, but I’m going to split.”

My instinct to flee agreed with my thoughts and I left immediately afterwards. I could tell it was nearing nighttime when I threw away my trash. The current conditions and scenarios only now seemed to haunt my mind as I dragged this exhausted body to the dorm room. Entering my room just as the announcement went off, I quickly threw off my scarf and top onto the table nearby. Flinging my body to rest on the bed, I pulled out the second Monopad I received to see it still updating. Stilling going at it; guess it really won’t be done until tomorrow won’t it?

“Ugh, this is so frustrating!” I grabbed at my hair and started pulling at it once I placed the pad aside, “Why does everything have to be this needlessly vague?”

I rested one of my arms over my eyes to shield it from the dimmed lights as I rolled onto my left side. My body always felt odd if I rested on my right side anyway, and it would be a pain to get up and turn off the lights. As much as I’d like to go ahead and plan out my thoughts and paper and pen, I couldn’t risk alerting any potential viewers or the Mastermind that I’m onto their plan. No way was I getting a risk of dying but… what if somebody were to try and kill me? Right like somebody would try and kill me, right? There was absolutely zero chance I’d become a target for murder right? Nobody would become suspicious of me this early in the game… Nobody would think to kill me… Nobody, right? Yet deep down, the thought of dying kept me from sleep until I couldn’t resist the luring solace of a brief escape from this nightmarish reality.

* * *

 

**_4 Days Remaining_ **

 

I woke up back into this nightmarish scenario after a dreamless slumber. Then again waking up to a new day by a morning announcement wasn’t at all welcoming. It was so annoying that I buried my head underneath my pillow to block out some of the noise. Once it was over, I decided to force my body from the bed and grab a piece of paper and pen. Sloppy written, an excuse to keep anyone from entering my room until I got more sleep. My body was still tired and I lazily tapped it on the door to my room before slamming it shut. Yawning once again, my hand moved to turn the lights off and I jumped back onto the bed. My hands grabbed and pulled the pillow over my head to block out noise. Closing my eyes once again, I wanted to return to sleeping a bit more. Feeling the bags under my eyes, I could tell pain lingering in my bones. So before I knew it, I returned back into a deep slumber.

When I woke up the next time, I was awoken by the sound of the nighttime announcement. Crap, did I sleep in that long!? I completely forgot that I was supposed to be meet with Rantaro. I just hope the guy read my note; of everything I need, having him hate me is the biggest issue to deal with this early. Though I rose up from the bed, and rubbing my right eye, I never expected to see Monokuma just lying on my bed like he owned the damn thing.

“Rise and Shine Sleepyhead!” I let out a scream as I backed away, clutching the pillow I used early. “Wow, you look worse for wear. What, didn’t have a nice sleep after nearly going for 24 fucking hours?”

“...Did I sleep for that long?” I was slightly bewildered before I shook my head, “Wh-What the hell are you doing in my room!? Don’t tell me… you went to check up on me because everyone was worried?”

“Why would I do such a silly thing that would waste my precious, valuable time?” He got anger and then started yelling, “Of course not! Besides, you haven’t even check out my special Monopad I gifted to you. Kids these days… high schoolers like yourself are never grateful.”

“The Monopad…?” I reached over and grabbed the pad into my hands, “What’s so important about-!?” Looking up, the bear was gone and I sighed.

Turning the stupid Monopad on, it loaded up as per usual until shifting into a 2D pixelated version of the school. Little sprite versions of everyone was on the map and I had functions such as zooming in and out, going through all the floors of the campus that were built and yet to be accessible. It was like I got a special map that gave me the locations and details of everyone and room. On the left hand were different buttons going from 1 to 6 in ascending order that didn’t connect to the map. Almost like they’d have to be unlocked yet my mind immediately connected them to chapters. Would that mean… these Monopads would gain more and more functions as I progress? That thought lingered in my mind until I saw a timer overhead and center above the whole entire map. Immediately my heart sunk and I knew there would be no time to sleep. In glowing white letters above the timer counting down were the words: 

 

_ ‘Time Until The First Murder’ _

_ 4 DAYS; 1 HOUR(S); 45 MIN(S) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so with the special Monpad finally active, a truly horrifying truth(?) is realized to our main hero. No doubt about how Not Kokichi will be with Rantaro in the next part. What makes it even more despairing - at least for my end - is that at the end of the next Daily Life we’ll be getting to see who gets axed off first! Who shall die first? Will it be a hated character that nobody will see coming? Or shall it be a death of a character everyone loves and then causes people to lose their mind? Who knows-! Oh wait, I do~! Well, I barely gave anyone reading varies amount of clues since it's going to be surprised.   
> Free Time Events are short for now due to the current motive causing major amounts of distrust between the students. I can assure everyone this won’t be the case for long; there will be a legit time in which Not Kokichi will have genuine moments with the cast. Though I do wonder, has any progress been made towards the motive that our hero has missed? ;)


	4. Daily Life P3 - Chapter 1

**_3 Days Remaining_ **

 

To say I couldn’t get anymore sleep last night was an understatement. Seeing that countdown timer had my mind racing through the possibilities. Just what the… the fuck was this timer for?! Counting down to exactly when the first murder was going to happen wasn’t settling at all. That next day, I threw on my clothes but didn’t bother with my hair. Pocketing both Monopads to keep on my person, I went to open my door when-!

“There you are; Playboy was worried about you yesterday little shit!” Miu stood angrily outside my door before grabbing my arm, “Come on now; you are coming me with little shit!” 

“H-Hey!” I tried to protest as she was dragging me down the stairs. Yikes! What gotten into her!? “M-Miu! Don’t drag me!!!” Even with my efforts to pull away, the Ultimate Inventor didn’t budge. 

Soon enough, I found myself dragged into Miu’s research lab and honestly I was scared outta my wits. Seeing the large, dangerous tools hanging from the ceiling made my heart skip a beat. Didn't help much that the chemicals were about as did the operating bed were out and about.

“Finally I got your ass here. Now sit on the operating bed.” A chill went down my spine.

“...What!?” My eyes widen in pure horror.

“You heard me; get your ass onto the operation table. Now!” Suddenly out of nowhere, she pulled a hammer and a darkening smirk encompassed her face, “Or else you’ll be out longer than before.”

I just stared at the hammer before I slowly proceeded what this meant. Why of all people did Miu drag my butt into her crazy world? Though by her expression and her position blocking the exit, complying may be the best idea at the moment. So as much as I wanted to flee, my body slowly went over to the operating table and I stopped. No way I was getting on that table for whatever she was planning. Though once I got over there, things seemed to settle down as she lowered her hammer.

“...M-Mind telling m-m-me why I’m here… n-now?” I gently asked as my backside felt the metal surface of the table. My calm composure was starting to crack because of a fact that she might be trying to kill me at this moment.

“Here, hold onto this little shit and don’t move,” Something was shoved into my arms and the heavy weight nearly had me fall backward if I didn’t catch myself. Looking down, I noticed the strange large box with plugs and wires sticking out of it. 

“Huh? What’s this for…?” I wanted to look closer but I feared what would happen if I took a peak.

“Separate the wires in the box for me. At least do that if you’re not going to move little shit,” Miu glared over to me. She then twirled the hammer in her hand before turning to a work bench. “Then after that, go fetch me some of the materials I need from the warehouse. List is attached to the table.” I just kind of stood there before she threw a screwdriver my way, “Get on it little shit!”

Somehow, I found myself having to be essential Miu’s assistant for whatever she was working on. I was allowed to grab quick snacks on my trips to and from the warehouse and nobody seemed to bat an eye. Assisting the perverted sexual Inventor was never I think I believed to ever happen anytime during this Killing Game. Whatever Miu was working on she didn’t allow me a chance to take a look by sending me on more errands and menial tasks. Not that I mind since I was getting back into having something in my stomach to digest. Plus coming and going around the campus helped to keep me hungry during my whole entire as her assistant. It wasn’t too long after my last trip that things started to end for this… Free time Event.

“Yes! Got this fucker finished!” Miu struck a victory pose as she held the invention in her hands to the sky. 

“What did you finish?” I asked Miu coming back from dealing with reorganizing her chemicals after a quick restock.

“Something that your buddy Playboy asked me to build for his sorry ass. Take a look at this!” Miu proudly showed me the object, “I call this bad boy Perversion Goggles!”

“Perversion... Goggles...?” That name made me completely puzzled; why would she name it so simple as that? “If I can ask, why would you name it that?”

“Well I doubt you can make up a better name for this,” She glared before giving it to me, “Now go along and find Playboy. Tell that blue baller that he owns me for this ok?”

“...Um sure, thanks Miu,” I smiled and left, carrying the object in my hands as I left her lab. Though we didn’t speak much, I think Miu and I grew closer together… despite our lack of words to one another. While I was walking to find Rantaro, I still had the rest of gummy worms bag I managed to find in the cafeteria. They were still fresh and gave my body a boost of energy as I was walked around. Strangely though, I noticed how most of the cast who just were out and about weren’t anywhere in the visible area. Stalking them wasn’t an ideal thought but maybe the recent motive was getting to people… and I deeply hated this. Kaede was struggling to keep everyone together last I checked; hope that girl knows what to do and she doesn’t get killed. 

“...I just hope things will get better,” I jokingly whispered to myself as I approached the Game Room.

Opening the door, who I found inside surprised me. I wasn’t expecting the people I saw to greet meat all.

“Oh, so it's you Kokichi. Heh, I thought you really had left us,” Ryoma joked a bit.

“See? I told you he was fine,” Rantaro replied as I walked closer to the two. “How are you feeling buddy?”

“Okay, I guess. Better than before I swear,” I replied as I handed him the goggles, “Say, what are you two doing down here? I’ve noticed a lack of… people around so I got worried something happened while I was in my room.”

“Yesterday? Well…” Ryoma took the candy out of his mouth before continuing, “I guess you could say things have gotten everyone to become isolated into their own groups. Monokuma showed up yesterday when we everyone discovered something in the library.”

“Something in the library?” He was talking about the hidden door; that was very clear in his words.

“Just to make the long story short, Monokuma and his Kubz showed up and have since locked the library from access. Also they hinted about the person who has access to that exclusive room has the Monopad connected to the chips. So I guess you can say that was about it.” Ryoma finished up and placed the candy back into his mouth, “Besides a couple of other moments that were… unique to say the least.”

“I-I see… so I’m guessing everyone is trying to figure out a game play on what to do next,” I made that assumption with that fact in mind, “So, I guess Monokuma isn’t going to let us get away with not killing anyone easily.”

“And those Monokubz dropped a detail that they might add another motive if nobody breaks and kills somebody.” Rantaro made note of that important detail, “That makes everyone on a time limit and I fear somebody is going to snap any day now.”

“Which means that discovering who has the Monopad and access to that door in the library is the only solid lead anyone has the moment. Ryoma then looked at the time on his Monopad, “As much as I’d like to say with you two, I need to get going. Having an early dinner doesn’t seem like a bad idea for me at the moment.”

The Ultimate Tennis Pro left us there alone and the silence of the room echoed when he exited. It sent chills up and down my spine as my mind raced with that knowledge. How much did I miss yesterday that would make everyone be this cold and distant towards one another!? This wasn’t going to work for my sanity or keeping up the Kokichi facade. I might just snap and kill someone myself and I rather… not be the cause of somebody’s death.

“Kokichi, you okay?” My body flinched at the contact on my shoulder, even though I knew it was Rantaro’s hand. “Hey, it's okay. We’re not going to let the time limit force us to commit a murder.”

“T-Time limit… you mean the one from our… Monopads right?” I needed to double check and he nodded.

“I know this is a very scary situation and the one controlling Monokuma and those keeping us here probably wanted us to snap first and kill somebody. In fact, the timer we have been given could be an elaborate lie. Think about it, you haven’t felt anything odd with your neck right?” My hand subconsciously went to rub the flesh of my neck. 

“...I-I guess not, but we can’t have that as a risk. Poking at our necks might get us killed if there is a bomb implanted,” I noted that fact even if it could a be a lie from Monokuma.

“Either way, if Monokuma lied about the bombs, I don’t think he lied about the special Monopad. From how he describes it, the person might not be able to even use it at the moment. And I got a feeling that whoever is assisting Monokuma possesses the pad.” He folded his arms, “Therefore, we need to go around and find suspects who could fit the description of being the assistant to Monokuma.”

“...And what does that have to do with the goggles?” I pointed to the object in question, “I mean, Miu dragged me to help her out all this morning and into late this afternoon!”

“Well, I know their purpose isn’t apparent, but I found out something very interesting from the map on our Monopads. While we can see everything as it were… I found that using these lens would permit the user to only something a sixth sense could detect. After all, that’s how I found out about the hidden door unlike how Shuichi and Kaede discovered the door.” Oh, so is this like how in the game we could change the view to show us the important stuff? Cool!! “But I’ll hang onto these for now; I did ask Miu to make you a pair but look like this one was mine.”

“Yeah no problem, but if I may ask… how did you convince Miu Iruma to make this stuff?” I scratched my chin.

“Oh, that wasn’t a problem to charm her thinking into making these. I have tons of sisters so I know my way around understand women and getting used to their behaviors.” Oh right, I completely forgot about that. “But we can meet up and continue this tomorrow. I really don’t want to drag attention now that we got the goggles. We’ll try and meet up tomorrow in the afternoon to investigate. Sound good?”

“Yeah, good thinking.” I nodded. 

* * *

 

**_2 Days Remaining_ **

 

There wasn’t much to do other than have dinner and return to my dorm the previous day. I still kept a tab on the timer as the limit decreased. My trip outside to have breakfast was met with a nearly empty room if Kirumi wasn’t preparing breakfast. We only exchanged glances as I grabbed my plate of food. Nobody else seemed to be coming in beside us, so the room had the tense silence of any dire situation. Finishing up my meal and leaving the dishes for the Ultimate Maid to clean up, my stroll around campus was the only thing I could even do at the moment. As I was walking around to exercise and destress a bit, the thoughts really couldn’t leave my head. That time limit going on for us would make us the most suspicious of the group. Yet as much as I’d like to just find whoever has the stupid pad or stop the Mastermind right now, it scared me. I couldn’t bear to just have blood staining my hands even if it would end the Killing Game. Having that idea just… made my body shake in horror. Whether this was my feelings or the subconsciousness of Kokichi’s body was beyond my comprehension. I didn’t know how long my thoughts were running wild since the world around me stopped all at once.

“....ok Kokichi?” A strange voice seemed to break down that barrier my brain constructed. Didn’t really help much that a looming shadow was behind me.

“Ah!” I screamed, turning around before I noticed Gonta had been the one to be behind me.

“Oh! Sorry friend.” Gonta apologized immediately, “Kokichi seemed lost in thought. Wanted to help out. Did not mean to scare you.”

“N-No it's my fault. I wasn’t paying attention,” I responded immediately and I scratched my chest. “I shouldn’t have gotten lost in my thoughts out here…” Just then, my stomach grumbled.

“Huh? Has Kokichi not eaten breakfast yet? True gentleman cannot skip meals!” Well, I guess I did have a small meal, but I guess lunch time is coming around.

“I did have breakfast, but I guess you can say… it wasn’t that large…” I wanted to trend on lightly just so I didn’t have to say I’m not the biggest fan of bugs. 

“Not large? Kokichi need proper meal! Every gentleman must have proper meal.” Nononono please don’t-! “Kokichi should join Gonta for lunch! True gentlemen help other males to become gentleman.” 

...So somehow I spend the whole lunch time with Gonta encouraging me to have more than a quick meal. Kirumi was making lunch and groups came and went while I hung out with the Ultimate Entomologist. We made small talk and I had to give him credit where it was due. Gonta was a nice guy and did help me focus on other things and not the impending doom. Either way, I got to eat many things I wouldn't have even tasted back at my home. But during my time eating with Gonta, I did notice something off that I kept to myself. Tsumugi came to get her meal, but I felt that she had her eyes on my head the entire time. Then again her eyes never met my own or even glanced my way, but her body language told me otherwise. Might be easy to act as a plain cosplayer girl through words and being plain but I could see through that facade.

I finished my own meal and parted ways with Gonta after noon past by. Then I went to see if Rantaro was walking around doing his own work. Thankfully, I did end up finding him in the Shrine of Judgement, but seeing Kaede and Shuichi there threw me off a bit.

“...I assure you Kaede, you can figure out how to get everyone back together.” Rantaro responded to something Kaede must have asked him. Then the trio noticed my entrance, “Hello there Kokichi; nice to see you coming around.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked walking to the group.

“Oh, nothing. We just wanted to ask why Rantaro has the goggles,” Kaede replied as Shuichi avoided meeting my gaze. “But we were just finishing up and getting ready to go.”

“Though now that you’re here, do you mind if I ask you something?” Shuichi asked as he fixed his cap again.

“What? Do you want to ask me something? Sure, fire your question. I promise I won’t tell a full lie.” I smirked as I tried to place the Kokichi facade back on my face.

“...W-Well, I just wanted to know why you decided to stay in your dorm room for a whole day?” Ah, right. That little thing. Guess I gotta ut my acting skills a bit higher to make it believable.

“Oh, that? Well, I just thought since nothing of importance would have happened that day, I wouldn’t bother going outside.” I flashed a cheeky smile before I continued. “And by the looks of things, nothing really did change. You know, besides the tension on everyone’s faces.”

“If you plan on doing that again Kokichi, don’t just lock your room so we can’t get in. Everyone got scared!” Kaede scolded me and I nodded.

“Fine, I’ll leave it unlocked next time… party pooper,” I whispered the remaining bit until my breath, making a slight smirk as I did.

“...Just don’t get into any more trouble. I want all of us to escape as friends and not fall into this Killing Game. Don’t forget that ok?” Kaede and Shuichi left after that, leaving Rantaro and me behind.

“That surely was unexpected, but with them gone we can get back to our work. I got the pair Miu has for your head size right here,” He handed it to me and I placed them on my hair. “Now I don’t want us to get the attention of others, so I had Miu install night vision into them so we can investigate at night.”

“At night… you mean to not gather attention from anybody?” I asked to make sure I was getting it all right.

“Yep. Then we can see if there was only a single hidden door in the library and nowhere else. Wearing these while everyone is awake and about wouldn’t do us any good. The timers don’t help us either and I rather not wait until the last day to get going with an investigation.” He reminded me about the timer and I nodded. Though, it did make me think about the trap Kaede and Shuichi would have done if the library wasn’t locked off.

“So what will we do to pass the time?” That question rose in my mind as I folded my arms.

“I feel like we can chat a bit in the Game Room while waiting for time to pass after dinner. Then go check any other areas together before the nighttime announcement comes around. Sound like a plan?”

“You betcha! Now lets ourselves a culprit’s red hand!” I joked with the last part.

* * *

 

**_1 Day Remaining_ **

 

Nothing much happened until Nighttime came around to the Academy and for the most part, our efforts didn’t succeed in anyway no matter where we looked. I wanted so badly to go into the girl’s restroom but showing that now wouldn’t be ideal at all. Though I did leave to use the men’s restroom while Rantaro investigated the basement for some time. Nothing worth noting happened did my break at all; strangely, I’m getting used to the whole thing for what males do in their bathroom breaks. Still was quite a bit longer but not by much. Moving on from that subject, nothing else suspicious came through the goggles or our our observations. Somehow one way or another on our third attempt on the second floor, somebody was there to greet us by flashing a harsh light into our eyes.

“...What are you two doing where those ridiculous things?” Maki seemed to in red pajamas, of all things and didn’t look like she had gotten much sleep.

“Huh? Maki? I never expected to see you up at this hour,” I jokingly masked a smile as I pulled off the goggles.

“Neither with you guys, though I was have thought you’d use the Monopad’s built-in light feature to go around and not those things.” Maki moved the light to shine the ground to allow our eyes to readjust. “Why are you up here?”

“Doing some investigation without anybody suspecting us for using the goggles. But why are you up at this hour? Having trouble sleeping?” Rantaro politely asked Maki as she averted her gaze.

“I heard footsteps rushing back and forth in the dorm and I couldn't stand it anymore. Walking around in the school calmed my nerves more than pacing through my room.” She rubbed her eye annoyingly. “Though by how you two are acting, I'm guessing you weren’t the ones I heard no too long ago.”

“So, you’re telling us that you went to see who snuck out?” I asked a bit puzzled. “Do you know how many left?”

“...I’m not sure, but if you haven’t been to the dorms since nighttime, then there is at least somebody else wandering around the school,” Maki mentioned before something happened we were not expecting. 

A strange smell began to fill up the air, one that reminded me of a campfire lit up for a cold starry night in the wilderness. It was barely noticeable except when I took in a deep breath, but there was something else; a melody my mind remembered all too well. Clair de Lune by Debussy… 

“...Um, are you hearing that piano music?” I asked the other two as their eyes widen.

“It sounds like it's coming from Kaede’s Lab.” Rantaro looked behind up, “Come on, we should go investigate.”

“I swear if Kaede is playing this music late at night and brought an audience she should have told us…” Maki yawned as we rushed over to the door.

Just as we got there though, something was indeed wrong. A light source was underneath her door and something about the air here seemed to be strange. It almost felt like-! No! Something was indeed burning and all three of us came to that conclusion. We didn’t say much but the smell got even worse and sickening to my stomach. Rantaro was the first to reach for the door and open it while Maki and I headed inside. 

Though what we saw… would forever remember in my head as a haunting nightmare.

Sometimes, your dreams take you into some crazy scenario with no answers. It traps you and goes on autopilot for you to experience. And for the most part, not many people remember their dreams… except for me… for some odd reason. I often remember them more often than my friends and I can quickly tell when I’m dreaming if they turn out to be too real. Yet however… I was currently in a scenario in which I couldn’t tell if it was dream or reality, staring at a bloody crime scene in a mundane classroom turned Lab. The look of two bodies burning freshly into my retinas as I let out a scream. 

“Burning… bodies!?” Maki even somewhat broke her stoic facial expression for one bit by seeing the burning bodies and then to something else in the room, “Look out!”

A hand wrapped around my waist as I was pulled back. Everything went dark before a burst of a burning force sent the three of us flying away from the Lab. We all managed to not get knocked out, but we were fearfully looking at where the large flaming whole and ruins of the Lab remained. Maki released me from her grasp as we shakingly stood up. The explosion shook the three of us as Maki’s Monopad was still clenched tightly in her hands. In there were the two bodies as the flames were dying down but then Monokuma’s voice came over the monitors in the nearly iconic announcement.

_ “Two bodies have been discovered! Everyone, please get yourselves out for little old Dreamland and meet up at the Ultimate Pianist’s Research Lab!” _ The monitor turned off afterward as the three of us were just still trying to process what just happened. 

“T-Two... bodies…” I was in a state of shock and denial… at the… the... bodies I was looking at…

“Can we even identify them with how badly they’ve been burnt up?” Rantaro asked, hesitation in his voice.

“I doubt so. I guess we need to see everyone else who comes here before we make… the discovery of their bodies…” Maki looked away disgusted, “I can’t believe this…”

There were only one thing I knew for certain from the looks of their bodies though - one was at least a girl and the other was unrecognizable. I just hoped it wasn’t going to be the two I was thinking of all I could was fall to my knees in shock. Everything began to feel too real; the sights, the smells,the sounds… it felt like I was losing my mind. Slowly I heard everyone running up to us and I shakingly got my back to my feet. I rather not look like a coward as I saw some familiar faces running to us in shock.

“What in the world!? What the hell is going on?!” Kaito was the first to appear in his space pajamas.

“Hey! Which of you fuckers decided to explode part of the building u-u-uh!” Miu seemed to be pissed before seeing the crime scene, stinging her with horror.

“We heard the explosion and came here as soon as we could,” Kirumi appeared next with Ryoma and Kiyo alongside her, “Is everyone alright?”

“GYAHHHHHHH!!!” Tenko screamed out loud when she arrived with Angie and Himiko.

“What happened? Gonta hear noise-!” Then Gonta saw the burning remains of the room, “Huh!? WAAAHHHH!! F-Fire! So much fire!!!”

“Nyeh...?” Himiko’s response wasn’t at all help at all!

Slowly looking around, I noticed Rantaro talking an account of everyone here before speaking up. “Hey, has anyone seen Kaede, Keebo, Shuichi or Tsumugi?” My heart skipped two beats this time. No… they can’t possibly be dead; only two bodies were found, so I just hope there weren’t more we would come to find.

“Um… no, I haven't seen them,” Kaito then looked around worrisome, “Wait! Where are they!?”

“How should we know? If anyone didn’t get woken up by the explosion then I’m calling bullshit!” Miu yelled out just as the bear appeared.

“What a relief! And it looks like somebody even took out tow of your classmates! Way to go guys!” Monokuma seemed chirped for the fact that we had two charred bodies still burning. “I gotta admit, I was a little nervous there cuz the killing game hadn’t started yet. Geez… you guys really know how to keep me in suspense. You even started this all off with an impressive bang too!”

“Y-You…” I was still a bit in shock but then Rantaro picked it up.

“If you’re here to flatter us and not help us in any sort of well, I’d suggest you leave,” Rantaro folded his arms.

“And leave you here unable to examine the crime scene before your very first class trial? Hell no! I do not accept that after making me wait for this long!” Monokuma shouted angrily.

“...Can somebody explain the meaning of what just happened?” Kirumi inquired.

“Nah, who needs an explanation after one of you idiots blew up Kaede’s Ultimate Lab?!” Monokuma grumbled, “If they hadn’t murdered somebody, I would have them executed immediately!”

The Monokubz suddenly appeared together while I was getting my grasp of reality back into place.

“Wow!” Monotaro began the whole Monokubz gimmick thingy.

“Now this is a spicy twist!” Monosuke cackled a bit. “Time to get this show on the road!”

“Wait… what do you mean!?” Kaito was befuddled.

“Like we said before, we’re gonna hold a class trial os that you bastards can find out who murdered these two over here,” Monosuke motioned to the crime scene.

“Get it right, and only the blackened will get punished. But if you get it wrong-!” Monotaro began before Monokid stumbled about.

“Stimulation surgery! Brain and knee! Then brain surgery again!” Seriously, just what was the drug they used in that honey to make robots become like this…

“...Everyone besides the blackened will be punished.” Montaro finished his statement.

Everyone… besides the blackened. I… I thought that we’d find someway to stop the game yet this-!

“But before we can hold a class trial, you gotta investigate first!” Monokuma took back the spotlight. “If you don’t investigate the murder, you won’t be able to argue over who did it.”

“So, you’re saying we need to investigate ourselves, too?” Ryoma looked pretty disappointed.

“Of course! The investigation is what makes the killing game so good!” Monokuma happily smiled. “You guys are gonna investigate this crime and find out the truth!”

I could just see the way Shuichi would have reacted to this if he was here… why didn’t he show up!?

“Puhuhu… The blackened’s handiwork has made this much more interesting… besides the fact, they blew up part of the school!” Monokuma brought up that point again.

“And after we worked so hard to complete that Ultimate Lab… So cruel,” Monophanie seemed depressed.

“All right! The trial will begin soon, so please give your investigation you're all!” With that, the Monokubz left. “Oh, and before I forget…!” Suddenly a stream of water somehow stopped the flames are growing even more before our eyes. Wow… “Now, you can investigate to your hearts’ delight! Just be careful of the puddles!!” Monokuma left us after that to look amongst ourselves.

“We have to… investigate the crime scene,” Rantaro then turned to the crime scene, now accessible without much danger.

“W-Wait! Where do we start?” Gonta asked; oh right, a good idea to have this for the first case.

“We’re looking for the truth of these two’s deaths, right? If we can’t figure out who the culprit is, then we’ll be annihilated for sure.” Ryoma seemed to still be on script somehow - minus the whole thing of whoever was burnt to death there.

“I-I don’t wanna be annihilated! The girls should be allowed to live, at least!” Tenko, if only you knew I was a girl in a guy’s body… I wonder how she’d react.

“Nyeeeh… I’m a cute, normal girl who can use magic, y’know?” Himiko brought that up.

“You should be the last person who should be callin’ herself cute!” Miu yelled at the Ultimate Magician.

“Do not fret. Just imagine this as something out of a police drama or detective manga.” Kirumi was trying to have us stay calm. 

Then everyone began to slowly spiral out of control and by that point, I just had enough. Without Shuichi or Kaede here to calm them down, it didn’t look like any attempts were being made and something within me… just snapped at them.

“Could everyone please just SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!?” I screamed at the top of my lungs when both my hands clenched. Okay, that got everyone’s attention on me… now I got to… Yeah, that’s right; I’m a Supreme Leader. I can do this… “Can we just focus on getting an investigation underway instead of blindly accusing people left and right with no evidence? We can do that all we want in the Class Trial once we have done what needs to be done here ok? For now, can we just cut the comedy routine and start a serious investigation!?”

I felt the eyes of everyone just in shock at my outburst. Okay, just gotta continue this for everyone to see that… see that this… “If we continue this distrust even longer they will allow a murderer to walk free. It would just be anyone, but somebody among us that will want us to fail. So just this once, let’s forget about the bombs to our necks, all the disagreements we’d had up until now and just get this fucking started….” I fell to my knees after using up much of my own feelings and dropping the Kokichi facade, “...It would be the best interest because I rather us die in the Class Trial than not investigate... okay?”

I closed my eyes and waited for any of the rebuttals to come but then… none of them came. Instead, agreements from everyone slowly came forward and the tension all but lifted from the room. Nobody was going to be paranoid about each other; we were going to work together and trust each other so we can survive. It felt like, something was getting to go in a positive direction! All the terrible feeling were pushed aside for a bit until Monokuma popped up again. For the love of all things good, Monokuma why did you come to ruin the mood?

“Hmm… This isn’t quite the mood I was expecting, but… It’s okay! At least you guys seem like you’re getting into it!” Did he come to give us the files right?

“You again!? The fuck is you doin’ here!?” Miu said exactly like I’d thought if he appeared in my room again.

“Puhuhu… Don’t be so crude. I’ve come to bring you all a wonderful present.” Monokuma laughed.

“This is giving me the heebie-jeebies,” There is Tenko’s dead fish eye angry face… 

“Dun dun dunnnn! A notebook that will kill anyone whose name is written into it!” He revealed the Monofile and I couldn’t help but point out the obvious, even if it was a reference.

“But isn’t it supposed to not be an electrical pad? I doubt that the darn thing has evolved from a paper notebook into that! It should be called the Death Not-!” I began to joke around.

“Whoops, my bad. It’s a Monokuma File. Not just one in fact, but two for our lovely victims!” He revealed them both to all of us. “The Monokuma File is a detailed report that summarizes all the info about the dead body… or bodies in this case! But there is no info that would point to the blackened, cuz that would ruin the trials. I dunno, maybe you guys’ll find it useful since you’re not experienced investigators, y’know?” He left after that and after a quick banter between everyone, I started out with the files as nobody else was willing to touch the stupid things. Though I booted them up… everything went cold and dead around me. For the two Monokuma listed out as victims were… 

**_Monokuma File # 1_ **

**_The Ultimate ??? - Body #1_ **

**_The victim’s body was found inside Kaede’s Ultimate Lab._ **

**_The victim’s caused of death was a crushed windpipe as a result of choking. The body appears to be female. No other injuries could be detected due to the fire damaging the body._ **

 

**_Monokuma File #2_ **

**_The Ultimate ??? - Body #2_ **

**_The victim’s body was found inside Kaede’s Ultimate Lab._ **

**_The victim’s cause of death is currently unknown to inconclusive results and the fire damaging the body greatly. There is no clear indication of the victim’s gender due to this reason._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...So tell me, who saw this coming? Deadly Life is coming up and that means Investigation Time for Not Kokichi and Rantaro to go through. Oh right, and I forgot to mention this was originally connected to into one part before I decided to split it into two. On a second edit, I think this should have been four parts but I’m done delaying this. I’ll keep this short so progress can get made for the Deadly Life.


	5. Deadly Life - Chapter 1

After reading those Monokuma Files aloud and handing them to the next person who dared take them, the reality clicked on just how it wouldn’t be like the video game at all. Two charred bodies that lack the time and the identities of the victims… Time made sense for the alibi reasons but not giving us a hint as to who was dead? Didn’t help to the fact that we were still missing Keebo, Shuichi, Kaede, and Tsumugi from our meeting. We did end up agreeing to search around with the Monopad lights and in pairs to prevent the destruction of evidence. And as expected, I got paired with Rantaro - who in the original game would have his skull crack while bleeding out. So somehow one way or other, Kaito left to find the others with Himiko, Tenko, and Gonta going with him. Everyone else went in pairs to check out other areas and left the scene of the crime to Kirumi and Korekiyo to look after. Though once I gathered myself up, the first thing I did was talk with Rantaro.

“So, looks like we actually gotta solve a murder huh… for two people,” I thought to stay positive.

“We can’t get around that at all; though checking out the bodies is the best place to start.” Rantaro and I walked over into the remains of Kaede’s Lab, “The Lab can be our next priority.”

“Right… so we have two charred bodies and one is definitely a girl’s… how about we have a look at her first?” I suggested as I walked over to the body, but didn’t dare go near it.

“What’s wrong Kokichi? I thought a Supreme Leader should be used to seeing things like this?” I knew he was joking, but I was deeply afraid to get near the body myself despite how much mystery crime shows had that possessed detail body reports. Though since he brought that up, I guess I could bring up some of Kokichi’s backstory.

“Hey, I’ll have you know my secret evil organization does not execute people in this sort of way!” I put up a Kokichi mask for a split second before the smell return, “Geez… they smell horrible.”

“You think? It must be the fuel that set off the fire in the first place and caused that explosion…” Rantaro knelt down and began examining the female body.  “...I do feel that there was something at least damaged her neck to a degree. Not sure if it's really the crushed windpipe as the file states, but…?” Suddenly he stopped as he noticed a thin string of metal tied harshly around the neck. I then noticed how the hands were gripping the metal as if to pry it off. Was this  **Metal String** the weapon used to kill her? What am I thinking… Why else would it be wound around her neck?!

“...So she was alive and struggling to break free,” I made note of that detail in  **Monokuma File #1** imaginary Truth Bullet section as I was looking at the body. “Say, is it just me but does it look like all her ash is settled in one place?” Rantaro then noticed how even on the floor were a significant pile of ash around the body. “Wouldn’t that mean, just as the file states, her cause of death wasn’t being burned alive?”

“...That may be the only possibility,” He rose up after grabbing the Monopad, “I only found one on her person and it's pretty much dead. The heat must have melted the insides to make it unusable.” A  **Dead Monopad** , weird but considering in previous games I’m not surprised.

“As for this other body,” We then went over and knelt down beside the other one. Though now I could clearly see just how disfigured the body was. It was even in pieces… Why the hell a  **Dismembered Corpse** wasn’t on the Monokuma File was beyond me. My stomach would have thrown up if I didn’t look away while Rantaro searched for clues. “...You don’t have to be so close to the body Kokichi if you can’t handle it…” I swore he said something under his breath, but I let it slide as I went to look around the room for other things by the body. Though deep in my gut, it refused to even call the corpse a human’s. A robot’s corpse couldn’t be burnt into a crisp; only a human could have been burnt to this degree… so why doesn’t my instinct accept that?

There was something that got my attention; pierces of fairly  **Thick Metal Scraps** were scattered about and they seemed to reek of the smell this whole Lab had. Nothing on the metal could be legible but I’m surprised how cool they were to the touch. Guess that water has some properties to not make everything blazing hot to the touch.

“Kokichi, I think you should come over to a second,” Rantaro called me back and I walked back over to him. “I guess you found something as evidence?” I proceeded to tell him about the scraps as he held the other Monopad in his hand. “I see… guess they were used to hold the smell of whatever is in the air. What makes me even more concerned is a lack of something on this victim.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“It was… well, a lack of any of their belongings.” He explained. “Not only that but…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head, “Nevermind the last part. I think I was just overthinking something.”

“Well, at least we know that the  **Missing Victim Belongings** might be crucial evidence,” I decided to turn the conversation away from a sudden awkward end, “So, did you find any clues to whether the fire killed this one?”

“I’m afraid not; I couldn’t identify the gender of this body like the file stated, but I could only assume this more was more susceptible to the fire. Yet I can’t find anything that would cause the fire and following explosion to burn away this one faster.” He shook his head and die, dropping the belongings of the deceased off.  “But now we should investigate the room for any clues.”

“Right! The scene might tell us more about what happened if it survived both the fire and explosion… I just hope the culprit didn’t destroy key evidence.” I said as we began to look around. 

Our first step was the huge piano that formerly sat in the middle room. Now it was in pieces of wood and metal and I thought it could be the source of where the metal wire came from… but with how damaged it was. No conclusion could have been made but I knew for certain that it had to come from the piano from size and length. Rantaro agreed as well so we knew that was a key piece of evidence that somehow survived the fire. Next up that came was when I walked over to what little remained of the speaker. They were badly damaged beyond repair, but I noticed that something survived in the corner. I grasped it and it appeared to what remained of a record cover. 

“Hey Kokichi, did you know the song that was playing in this Lab?” Rantaro asked as I looked at the piece of covering in my hand.

“... _ Clair de Lune _ by Debussy…” I replied as I dropped the cover piece, “I was hanging out with Kaede a few days ago and she played it for me… at least a portion of the music sheet.”

“So they used to song’s DVD to play the music…” His voice trailed off before I glared.

“It’s a CD.”

“Huh?”

“Playing music from a disk is specifically called using a CD. DVD is for movies,” I made a puffy face annoyed, “Got it?”

“All right, all right. I get it Kokichi,” I laughed a bit. Guess we’ll need to keep this  **CD and Speakers** in mind.

One last thing in the room caught my attention was nearby where the Lab door would have been. It glistened by the light of my Monopad so I went to pick up the object. 

“A… golden lighter?” The small object was chilled in my hand as I held the light to it.

“No engravings… but this is definitely a part of the crime,” Rantaro took it from my hands to look for himself, “...I don’t think is just any old lighter in the warehouse.”

Strange, then who would even possess a  **Golden Lighter** amongst the cast? Leaving the evidence for others to find, next to come up for this area is to gather alibis. Rantaro must still have his knowledge as we approached the two watching guard. Hooray! No dialogue is needed for this section to explain this!

“Have both of your concluded your investigations of the crime scene?” Kirumi inquired when we approached her. 

“Why yes, but I’d like to add you both something. Were you both in your rooms the whole entire night until the explosion went off?” Rantaro asked first while I stood by his side.

“I cannot confirm for everyone, but I do believe most of us were in our rooms,” Korekiyo replied, “Though as for if I ever left my room, that would be a no.”

“The same goes as well for me. I never once left my room,” Kirumi continued on, “Though I’m afraid I was sleeping for most of the night.”

“I guess most everyone would have that alibi…” I stated aloud. “Well, except for us and Maki at the very least.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Kirumi seemed a bit surprised before recalling the information, “Oh right! You three were the first to discover the bodies. My apologies.”

I had nothing really to comment on, though we excused ourselves to go find out where the others had left to investigate. We’d still need more information for the  **Dorm Testimonies** as we headed to find the others. Next room we noticed activity is was the cafeteria of all places. The only indication was a light source going past the doors that were propped open. Guess Monokuma opened that up for investigation. Inside, the Ultimate Artist was looking around with the Ultimate Tennis Pro. Though with Angie looking into the kitchen area, I left to talk with her first.

“Nyahahaha! I see. I see. Praise be to Atua!” Angie was her quirky self as we approached.

“Um… excuse me, Angie?” I hesitantly called out to her and she whipped around to see us. I took a step back to dodge the whipping ponytails.

“Kokichi, how wonderful to see you! And you brought Atua’s Child with you as well?” Oh right… I completely forgot that Angie refers to Rantaro as Atua’s Child. Did I forget anything else?

“We’re investigating together,” Rantaro then looked to where she was in the kitchen, “Did you find anything?”

“I was going to pray for Atua’s guidance to guide us to victory… Then I was graced with a sudden discovery!” The Ultimate Artist had her paintbrush out to point out what she found.

“That’s where some of the propane tanks from the warehouse were placed by Kirumi correct?” Rantaro asked before I looked over there as well. “What’s wrong with them?”

“As I recall, Kirumi had Gonta, Keebo and Kaito carry some into the kitchen,” Angie began her explanation, “But as you can see, some have mysteriously vanished!”

“ **Missing Propane Tanks** ? Why would anyone steal them for?” I was sure this would be a Truth Bullet. 

“Indeed. That is strange.” She agreed, “But with that explosion, it ruined me from the most delightful dream…”

“Right…” I waved at Angie, “See ya!” That was all I needed and there was somebody else we needed to check up on.

“Hey, Ryoma!” I tried to be chipper with the Ultimate Tennis Pro when we got over to him.

“Well, hello to you as well, I guess. What do you two want?” He asked us.

“We were wondering if you found anything suspicious or had an alibi.” I forced a smile, “So, did you get anything?”

“Anything suspicious?” He paused to think for a few before responding, “Nothing in here has peaked my interest one bit. I was in my dorm the whole night until the explosion went off. Though I guess… on my way here I did notice something off.”

“Whatever would that be?” Rantaro inquired.

“...Maybe it was just me, but I swore there was some sort of noise in the men’s restroom. Then again, it might have been nothing as we were all running up here in a panic. You’ll have the rest to pick up.” Strange noises in the men’s restroom? What could that mean?

“Thanks, Ryoma, that should help out with this investigation,” Rantaro smiled a bit.

“Don’t be so grateful just yet. We still got ways to go; the Class Trial hasn’t even begun yet. Anyone here could be the killer.” He reminded us the true tragedy of the situation. Right, can’t just relax for a moment right now. We got ourselves a murderer in our midst.

Leaving the cafeteria, Rantaro and I made our way to the men’s restroom to see if Ryoma was right about this. Entering the bathroom, it seemed to be pretty ordinary looking. 

“You think Ryoma might have misheard something?” Rantaro asked as he began opening doors to the stalls.

“We don’t know that for sure; hell, I doubt that anyone would be in their right mind after having an explosion go off in this place!” I flinched and shuddered, recalling the brief heat that nearly burnt into my skin, “...Just who’d create a fucking bomb to destroy two bodies!? That would make them very quick to find out who they were.”

“...How could you just tell by who made a bomb?” He was getting halfway through them now while I twirled my thumbs nervously.

“I mean, even if we take the fact that one victim was choked to her death, do you think anyone but Miu could have set up the bomb?” I asked him, “After all, she’s the Ultimate Inventor. Makes her the most likely suspect.”

“You do have a point; but we need to figure out who's among the dead before making a decision,” Rantaro stopped before the last stall, “Right now, Kaede, Shuichi, Keebo, and Tsumugi are missing. If could just find one of them, then-!” He pushed the last stall’s door open and froze.

“...Hey, you okay dude?” I was confused, so I walked over to him to make sure he was okay, “Why did you just-!?”

My eyes drifted down to where he was staring and my blood ran cold. Seeing what was before my eyes both lifted my spirits but chained it back into the sea of despair. The stains of blood on the tile dripping from his face made me just stare in horror. Something protruded from the source of the wound, but I could only see how shaking his body was as he struggled to stand. Just why… how-!?

“Shit! Shuichi!!” I covered my mouth as Rantaro lunged forward to seize the Ultimate Detective before the smaller male lost his footing. “Stay still man! We got you!”

Shuichi seemed to shuttered and be in immense pain. Didn’t take a genius as I ran over to notice there was fucking blood flowing through one of his eyes. Or sourcing itself from the wounded area but-?! How he was still alive and not bleeding out to his death was beyond my comprehension. Right now, we had to make sure he was stable and didn’t die in our presence. 

“...We need to get him to see Kirumi,” That was the first instinct I had; the Ultimate Maid must surely be experienced in the medical field. Something could be done to stem the bleeding and at least make an attempt at healing. My hand reached and I took over my scarf. “Here, you carry him after I this to stem the bleeding.” I just hope this worked. 

Shuichi didn’t struggle at all of made much noise as I did my best attempt at addressing the wound. It wasn’t pretty at all but I knew taking out the knife would have made things worse. My shaking hands wouldn’t have been much help to safely remove the blade. Once completed, we left the bathroom and hurried back to Kirumi. Racing as best as we could, I pushed all thoughts back to prioritize the life of the Ultimate Detective who might only be clinging to life. There wasn’t enough blood for a transfusion I hope and prayed. Deep inside, I feared that if he drifted off into the unconscious that he’d never return. When we approached the crime scene, it was quite a shock to see the party of four returning there just as we arrived. Didn’t take them long to look back with Kirumi and Kiyo to see what we had.

“Wait a sec! What the fuck happened to Shuichi!?” Kaito yelled as I could Shuichi flinched slightly at the yelling.

“W-We don’t know! He was found bleeding in the men’s restroom and I doubt he’s hanging out,” Rantaro and I rushed over to Kirumi, “Kirumi, can you see if you can tend to his wound?”

“I grabbed a medical kit from the warehouse,” Himiko lifted the kit for the Ultimate Maid to take, “But I never thought we’d actually use it…” 

“Hey! Did either of you degenerate males stoop so low to attack another!?” Tenko for the love of all things good not now.

“Do you think either of us would fucking attack him right now!?” I snapped back to the Aikido Master. “We already got two bodies to deal with; I rather not raise the count to three.”

“Though, how come you guys found Shuichi? We couldn’t find anyone?” Kaito asked us.

“Ryoma mentioned some noise in the restroom so we investigated,” Rantaro responded as Miu and Maki returned.

“What’s going on here?” Maki spoke first as she approached us.

“We found Shuichi Saihara alive, though injured.” Rantaro pointed to where Kirumi was tending to Shuichi with Gonta’s assistance. 

“No luck on finding Kaede, Tsumugi or Keebo,” Kaito admitted defeatedly.

“Did you guys find anything?” I asked both girls. Though now that I think about it, after this we should check Shuichi for any clues. Besides a possibly Truth Bullet of the  **Men’s Restroom(?)** . 

“We returned to the dorms to make sure nobody slept in like a fucking pig.” Miu took the lead as she had something in her hand. “Nothing of importance was there… but when we coming back, guess what I snagged outta a hole?” She lifted the receiver for all of us to see, “This fucking thing.”

“It is a receiver,” Maki made a puffy face and looked away, “Hasn’t reacted at all but was found in the dorm area.”

“So, what does that mean for this crime?” Rantaro then looked to the device as Miu began tinkering with it.

“Not really sure, but it wasn’t just lying on the ground for no fucking reason. Give me some time and I’ll crack this sucker wide open.” Miu’s comment was a bit off-handed, but having a  **Receiver** was definitely weird.

“Though if I may ask, was anyone else awake or moving about earlier tonight?” Maki looked at everyone here, “I heard footsteps running back and forth.”

“Footsteps?” Himiko pondered.

“I don’t know Maki; I think most of us were out asleep,” Kaito response was honest. “So I wouldn’t know.”

**Maki’s Testimony** is probably something to keep in mind. Inside my heart, however, the threat of impending death was upon Shuichi’s fate. Just why was there a murder in Kaede’s Lab… and then we happen to find Shuichi surviving an attack?

“You again! What do you want!?” Tenko struck one of her defensive poses at the bear.

“Oh relax you, stupid teens! I’m not here to berate anyone! I’m just surprised you were able to find one of the missing students that’s all!” He seemed to wink at us.

“Find the one missing students… then where the hell is Kaede, Tsumugi, and Keebo!?” Kaito snapped back.

“I’ll have you know my Kubz are doing their best to locate the last missing student!” Monokuma yelled at us, “Just ignore that and focus on your investigation…” I think only now did the bear notice how bad of a condition Shuichi was. “And why are asking about three? Surely any genius with a brain better than yours can tell only one more of you bastards is still walking!”

I glared at Monokuma and decided to divert my attention to the injured student. There wasn’t any way I could deal with the bear’s speech after finding him. Kneeling by Kirumi, I looked at where she placed my bloody scarf alongside Shuichi’s hat. So neatly folded below the hat, it nearly made me crack a smile before seeing the Ultimate Detective still struggling a bit.

“I’m amazed that you came to me out of everyone,” Kirumi didn’t even turn to me as she was tending the wound, “Surely there might have been another you could have trusted more than me.”

“...Like anyone else here knows anything about medical treatments. Made the most sense for you to be the most likely to know how to deal with this,” I flinched a bit seeing how bad it was, “...Honestly, it did scare me finding him like that.”

“And by a struck of luck you did. If you waited any longer, Shuichi might have led to his death without stemming this flow.” She was wrapping a patch and bandage over his wound as he seemed to be silent for the moment, “You said Ryoma heard noises in the restroom correct?”

I nodded. “Yeah, we didn’t expect to find anything but I’m glad he’s safe… even though it drops our current number of suspected victims to three.”

“...And you bastards better believe that whoever used their murder to blow up this building will not only be punished when they get caught… but shall receive an  _ extreme _ punishment!” Monokuma yelled as attention for me was brought back to the bear. He wasn’t happy one bit. “Once again, I’ll remind you all that if they do escape, they get major praise from I. They get caught, however, I’ll show everyone just how much business I mean! Using them as an example of course! Bwahahahaha!!” He vanished after that and everyone then came over to us. By then, I couldn’t help but notice how vulnerable the true main protagonist of the game was at the moment. I feared even with Gonta helping to keep him on his feet that he might collapse.

“Hey, how’s Shuichi doing?” Kaito was first to rush over once the bear left, easily moving closer.

“I’d refrain from making any rash moves; he’s still recovering from his injuries and very weak.” Kirumi grabbed Kaito’s shoulder reflexively. “Though, my skills might only keep the wound closed for so long. I advise him to be very cautious while like this.”

“Geez, just who’d the fuck attack Shyhara for?” Miu’s tone was clearly of annoyance, “I don’t need another fucking mystery to add to this shitshow!”

“I don’t think anyone likes this idea either,” Rantaro stepped in, arms folded. “But I don’t think we can let it slide that  **Shuichi’s Attempted Murder** didn’t happen out of the blue. He’s clearly not able to testify anything at the moment; I doubt he’d even be okay to participate in the Class Trial.”

“Monokuma said that since we found him, that he’d have to participate in the Class Trial…” Himiko pouted, “What a pain…”

“R-Really? Monokuma say that!?” Gonta’s shock was the same as mine, though I forced myself to not show it.

“Yeah, as much a pain that will be.” Maki then looked to Shuichi, “Has anyone gotten him something to drink with sugar in it? I think he might pass out if we don’t give him something.”

“The cafeteria's open right now; I’ll see if I can quickly grab something for him,” Himiko quickly left in a weird slow running - no jog - of sorts? Honestly, it looked weird.

“W-Wait! Himiko doesn't just go off alone!!” Tenko yelled and chased after the Ultimate Magician.

The two quickly returned, alongside Ryoma and Angie and the small beverage. It was given to Shuichi and Kirumi did help it go down his throat. Though this moment was short lived as the monitors suddenly came back alive. A familiar chime rang throughout the halls as the message sprung onto the speakers.

_ “It’s time, you bastards! Time for the long-awaited class trial!” _ My blood ran cold when those words were said.

* * *

Everything went pretty much as per usual, but seeing it before my very eyes and not behind the screen was a completely different experience. Without a pep talk from Kaede, our trip to the elevator was full of silence and tension. This was it huh… my first time in a class trial where I didn’t know what the end result was. No clear indication of the who the murderer is or even the victims but from the looks of things… having Shuichi here only made it worse on guessing who the bodies were. Everything past that announcement was a blur; nothing was out of place really except for the fact three students were missing. The Kubz told us they’d find the strangler soon enough and for us to go the Shrine of Judgement. How we all managed to comply and not run away was beyond my comprehension. 

Glancing all around, I thought of everything these characters were in the original game and then to now. One of us did it, and they were standing amongst us in a game of life and death. There wasn’t a second chance to restart a saved game file if I failed. It all landed on my shoulders it seemed; I was now a protagonist. No longer could I delude me from this situation. Yet my hands… they were freezing cold. Not in the sense of how frantic my mind was, but literally going cold. Shutting my eyes, I tried to fall back into the mask of Kokichi Oma. How did he lie to himself so much? Lies will only do you so good until they backfire. I’m nothing like Kaede; I can’t have the courage or strength to lead people. I’m not like Shuichi with his intelligence or intuition. Sure as hell I’m nothing like anyone beforehand from the previous games. How can just an average girl like me suppose to win?

There isn’t a script for me to follow. I wasn’t created with the attention of being part of a Killing Game. Sure as hell not meant to be in the Ultimate Supreme Leader’s body! My mind began to wander into those thoughts and I would have zoned out even more if I didn’t feel a hand touch my right shoulder.

“Overthinking in the tension right?” My eyes snapped open when he spoke to me. It was just whispers for us to here, just as he’d like it. “...I can’t blame you; gives me a sense of Deja Vue. Weird, right? How something as tense as descending an elevator would feel so natural yet unsettling… I have a suggestion for you to help get you to relax a bit.”

I glanced over at him once I noticed that my nails were starting to dig into the palm of my hands. “...Yeah?”

“This that after this, we’ll be one step closer to escaping this place.” Okay, why did you say that Rantaro? “I know that’s a weird thought, but think about it. If we escape this trial, we can access more and find a way to escape. Don’t think about the future storm coming; just sail your way to the eye, got it?” He looked down and I wondered how much I was relying on him for. Could I trust me this easily? Even if he wasn’t dead yet, those thoughts started to form before I pushed them away.

“...Eye of the storm. Right,” I nodded slightly, “We just gotta get to the eye.”

He softly smiled and the elevator stopped. Doors opened up to the trial room and I knew the routine. Refraining from speaking at all, everything seemed to go on the script and ended once we got the prompt to find our podiums. Himiko to one side and Tenko the other; yep, this was my spot. Doing my best to keep myself under control, my mind reached for Kokichi’s mask. Right now I needed to dawn a persona other than myself. If the Mastermind wants me to play along, then I’d gladly do my best with the Persona I’ve developed.The chilled feeling my hands didn't go away as my mind laced the mask on. Okay, let’s get this Class Trial underway.

 

Truth Bullets

**Monokuma File 1 - Victim 1 Corpse**

**Monokuma File 2 - Victim 2 Corpse**

**Metal Piano String**

**Dead Monopad**

**Dismembered Corpse**

**Missing Victim #2 Belongings**

**Thick Metal Scraps**

**Ashes Around Corpses**

**CD and Speakers**

**Golden Lighter**

**Dorm Testimonies**

**Missing Propane Tanks**

**Men’s Restroom(?)**

**Receiver**

**Maki’s Testimony**

**Shuichi’s Attempted Murder**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this part was a pain and a half to write. Trying to figure out what sort of evidence would remain and what testimonies took some thinking. And don’t worry if during your speculation and search things are confusing as to how the crime was committed or whodunnit. It supposed to be this way since as “spoilers” all the crimes and trials are supposed to be not solvable in the eyes of our main character everyone! She definitely won’t put the pieces together as an Ultimate Detective would and due to being in the Ultimate Supreme Leader’s body, expect there to be more emphasis on Lying coming up. Since the overall theme of the game is ‘Truth vs Lies’ there will be more lies from our main hero.   
> And with this, the Class Trial portions are coming up and as stated above, they’ll be changed up a bit. Who knows? I might add in more little things to spice up the Trial. As always, Comments and Kudos are appreciated! I’d be glad to hear what everyone has to say. Though after the Class Trial, a short hiatus may occur I’ll let everyone know once Chapter 1 is wrapped up.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes:  
> Now, while this will be similar to the canon Danganronpa v3 game itself, not everything will be exactly the same... For example, Rantaro not being able to remember his name or talent. Or simply put - welcome to the Danganronpa v3 AU with OC trapped within the body of Kokichi Oma! I’m avoiding using the term Self-Insert for this character because while this girl is based on me, it's more of a Persona/OC character. Therefore, this AU might take longer since I’m also writing for fun - so while I’ll try to keep everyone in character that might not be entirely possible.  
> Still, I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts and/or support to see whether or not I’ll continue this little thing. Though in terms of Introductions, I decided to skip most of them since it wouldn’t be too much different than what happened in canon or wouldn't be too interesting. But rest assured I plan to make sure that the Daily Life, Deadly Life, and Class Trial Sections will involve more interactions. That is if I don’t lose interest but I hope you enjoy.


End file.
